AWAY DAYS FROM HEREFORD AND GRAYS

You can click on the thumbnail pictures to enlarge.

Lying awake one night as you do, I had an idea about getting as many people to go to Hereford as we could. The Trust had initially decided to hold off running coaches to away games until next season but I thought as a taster to what we would be doing why not try and run a coach to Hereford, in fact why not two and market "The Hereford 100".

I am not a lover of coach travel to be honest but it was my idea so I had to run with it. There were times when my phone wouldn't stop ringing and I wished I hadn't bothered but it was worth it. To see the two coaches pull up outside the Arion at 9.30 was a great sight, you do worry when you organise these things that everything will go ok and it seemed to. It was to be my first time on a coach since the fateful day at Stevenage.

The motorway was blocked and the alternative route took us via the narrow roads which meant we were behind a slow tanker for nearly 15 miles but we were still there by 2 which gave everyone chance to do their own thing before the game.  The atmosphere was great with several people turning up in fancy dress. to create a carnival atmosphere. The yellow pages had been ripped up but we only got one bag in as the over zealous gateman decided he wasn't too keen on it after we had sneaked one bag through. It was £11 entry, the programme was £2.50 and a very good fanzine was £1. The ground is not my favourite, you get put in a corner were it is very hard to see. It is however an old fashioned ground in need of some maintenance. The lads got a great welcome on to the pitch from the 182 travelling fans. The drum was there to add to the atmosphere and a good headache for a number of people. The support throughout the game was excellent but it looked like we were going to go down to a 1-0 defeat until Liam Blakeman popped up with a well deserved late winner(well it felt like a winner!!) to send us all into raptures. The final whistle was greeted as though we had won the league. The point at Burton on the Tuesday before and the point today were real bonuses and the lads showed their appreciation of the support   and Elvis got a bit carried away  The coaches were waiting outside the ground and walking back several Hereford fans were somewhat bemused as to why we were celebrating so much!

We had run a Golden Goal competition on the coach and Andrew Kelly was the lucky winner of £30 on my coach. It did seem to take an age to get home, we were on the slower coach and I'm sure it went a long way round getting on to the motorway but after a stop at the Services we were back in Ainsdale for 9.15. It was a good day and hopefully one that will be repeated many times next season.

Next up was Grays Athletic, never one to let work get in the way I had the Monday to Wednesday off to take in this game. I set off 10.30 Monday, yes Monday, for this one. It was a new ground after all. I was staying at a Travelodge in Kings Cross which I had got cheap having booked as soon as the date for the game was confirmed. Just before I left I thought I'd better check on were it was and how I should get there. I wish I hadn't as on reading the reviews about the hotel I learned it was rat infested with paint peeling off the walls. Something to look forward to then.

It was a quiet journey down apart from some Scouser who thought he was funny but thankfully on seeing my lack of laughter(i pods do come in handy) at his "jokes" he moved away which was a mighty relief as I spotted he had a Liverpool t-shirt on and if he had started trying to express the delights of watching Liverpool to me I wouldn't have been responsible for my actions!

It was dull and dreary all the way down and the journey was uneventful. I travel to London a fair bit with work and run a competition with myself to see how many times the toilet alarm goes off when people press the wrong button. It helps pass the time! The record is 11 and I was on course but sadly it stopped at 8.

With time to spare I went to see my boss  but she was doing her washing so didn't have time to grant me an audience. I decided to confront my demons and return to the scene of the worst day in my Southport FC watching life  I still go cold every time I see the place or hear it mentioned so I thought that confronting it head on may help. Perhaps! Next stop was Harry Ramsdens were I met up with Michelle, my daughter for tea. We were onward bound to watch whisper it Fulham v Wigan. It was only when I got in the ground that I realised it was the first ever Premiership match I had ever been to and my first game of "top flight" football since Manchester City v Leeds United in the afternoon after we had played Stockport County on Boxing Day morning 1975, the game that George Best played for Stockport. It was a new ground, number 151, and not a bad game but not as good as The Conference. Watching Wigan, going to the Cafe Royal and rats in the hotel, nightmare ahead? It was late when I arrived back at the hotel, it hadn't seemed too bad when I had quickly checked in and dumped my bags. It was dark now and it was with some trepidation that I opened my bedroom door. Not a rat in sight.

I had planned to do all sorts of things on the Tuesday of our game. The aim was to visit as many football grounds as possible. I had booked myself on a tour of Chelski at 11am so made my way there. Wow what a place. My dislike of all things skyship is well documented but I have to admit I was absolutely stunned, the whole set up is just something else, nothing to do with the football I love but you have to admire the enterprise that has set that empire up. I was waiting to go on the tour and I received a text from Jon that said he had just met up with Eric Redrobe and Eric had agreed to come to the trust launch. I was ecstatic, the number one Southport player coming to our launch. By the time the tour started I was buzzing! The tour was excellent. There were only twelve people on it and only two English people. The guide was a totally devoted Chelsea nut. It started with him asking how many of the group supported Chelsea, one hand went up, the other Englishman, so he asked everyone else who they supported, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Naples, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Porto, Juventus and it got to me SOUTHPORT, I proudly proclaimed, The guide ran over to me and told the rest of the group "now this is a real football fan and he shook my hand! I felt proud. I'm not sure anyone else understood what was going on but to get SFC mentioned made my day. I got my picture of my Southport shirt in the Chelsea dressing room.  and managed several pictures of the ground. The guide and I got on like a house on fire and I spent much longer at the ground than I had planned but it was worth every penny.   

Next up was QPR  but try as I might they were not for letting me in the ground. It was back to Central London for a bite to eat before setting off to The Valley to see Charlton's ground, again there was no way in but it looked pretty good from the outside.  I had travelled round London for just £6.30 all day on my travel card and it proved very good value

I had arranged to meet Michelle at Fenchurch Street station for the onward trip to Grays. As usual we got there far too early and were at the ground for 6.50. It was £11 entry and £2 for the programme. I had been told the ground wasn't the best but a lot of work has been done and it wasn't as bad as I thought but ready for the football league?  I have my doubts. Grays are by far and away the best team I had seen at Haig Ave so I didn't expect too much from the game itself. We had a good following for a midweek long distance match of around 70 probably split 50/50 between travellers and exiles. Grays missed a golden chance in the first half and scored early in the second which seemed to spark us into life and we played some good stuff. The pitch watering at half time  was a bit dodgy as until the ref intervened they only watered half the pitch, the bit we were defending! The goalkeeper was great with us saying he respected anyone who travelled that distance for a midweek game. As the game wore on we felt we were in with a chance and Syd duly obliged with a screamer into the bottom corner.....well it bobbled in somehow! Earl became our 100th player booked by a very officious ref. The last 23 minutes seemed to take forever. We had heard Forest Green were losing 2-1 and if results stayed the same we were staying up. The tension was unbearable as the minutes ticked down and this time I really was biting my bottom lip with the tension. We hung on to get the point we needed and FGR lost, we had another season of National Conference football. We have stayed up we chanted and the players joined in with the celebrations.  Liam came over and thanked the fans, Liam Watson's yellow army!  A great night. It was back on the train into London and back to the hotel, I passed scores of celebrating Arsenal fans in Kings Cross and thought it was jolly decent of them to celebrate us staying up with so much enthusiasm. Apparently though they were celebrating qualifying for some Mickey Mouse final, if only they knew there were much bigger things to celebrate that night! Back at the hotel I again went through the careful door opening ritual but again no rats.

It was an early train back from London to Liverpool and an uneventful journey up. I was back in Liverpool for 11.50 and then had to get the train from Liverpool Central to Southport. At last I saw a rat. They are quite common at Central Station but after all my trepidations of them being in the hotel it was good old Central Station that provided my only sighting.

It had been a brilliant two days with the highlight being the celebrations at the end of the Grays game which somehow seemed to make all the many hours I have spent travelling this season worthwhile.

Webmaster Rob Urwin Contact rob@southportfcstats.co.uk