Not dead and buried
Bury AFC took a replay to overcome Hallam in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. This Saturday, the resurrected club forced to leave the Football League in August 2019 faces Widnes. It might sound more like a Rugby League, but it is good to see the newly-formed fan-owned club back playing in the FA Cup. It may be over 100 years since Bury defeated Stockton 12-1 in the FA Cup, but we wish them well in this year’s competition.
Oldham Athletic v Dorking Wanderers
One game that caught my eye this week was the National League game between Oldham Athletic and Dorking Wanderers. In 1992, Oldham Athletic were
one of the founding members of the Premier League. As for Dorking Wanderers in 1992, well, they did not exist, as they were founded in 1999. What a difference 30 years can make.
Long time waiting
Sheringham and Carlisle City are two lesser-known teams competing in this week’s Preliminary Round FA Cup ties. It’s a long while since they appeared in the competition – over 40 years in the case of Carlisle City and 60 years for Sheringham. Sheringham head to Fakenham in a battle of the hams (remember the ham story?), and Carlisle City entertain Goole. If you are wondering what the nickname of Goole is, it’s not the Ghouls or even the Goolies. It’s the Vikings, of course.
We meat again
`The meat theme won’t lie down. I noticed this week that Liversedge play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Last week they lost 1-0 at home to Ashton United with Max Harrop scoring the only goal of the game. However, the main reason for mentioning Liversedge is that their name sounds remarkably like liver sausage. This was missed last season when the meat connections thread was running. A bad joke, I suppose. Harrumph. Or, Harrop, perhaps.
From Hashtag United to Wembley book
Yes, yes, it’s all happening. The elves are all busy typing away to get the book published in time for when the FA Trophy kicks off this season. I promised to give everyone sight of the cover this week, so here it is. For those that attended last season’s FA Trophy tie between Hashtag United and Chipstead, they may recognise the action on the cover.
National League winners
After two rounds of games in the National League, none of the teams has managed to pick up two wins. I will be keeping an eye on the teams that survive the longest without losing, so more on this in the weeks ahead.
Hendon sunk
Hendon travelled to Swindon Supermarine last weekend. I recall talking to a groundhopper on my FA Trophy trail last season who had visited the Wiltshire club. He repeatedly referred to the club as Swindon Submarine. I didn’t like to correct him as he was in full flow, relating tales about a complex
train journey to Swindon due to engineering works. I wonder if he saw Hendon lose 4-1 there last Saturday as Hendon were well and truly sunk by the end of the game. One of Swindon Supermarine’s most well-known players is Tom Jones. As for making the mistake of referring to the club as Swindon Submarine, I guess it’s not unusual. I think he also told me about a game at Plymouth when he saw the green, green grass of Home Park, but I may be confused.
Trophy stuff
Yes, OK. No FA Trophy stuff this week. Oodles of it next week.
