We’re back!
As promised, Fat Rophy has briefly taken time off from his much-needed three-month holiday at a 7-star resort in the Seychelles to bring the Mid-Summer Non-League Review. Hopefully, it’s more interesting than the Euros. We will back every week from early August, so don’t get the blues.
Bende it like Beckham
You never want to see any keen footballer without a club. However, I can’t believe this young man won’t be snapped up rather quickly. Is there a better
name out there than Mr Heavenly Bende? There must be a London club that needs a 5’ 7” right-footed midfielder. If not, would Tonbridge Angels be interested, perhaps?
Bank robbers and getting awkward
The first tie out of the hat for the very first round, the Extra Preliminary Round, of the FA Cup brought together Crook Town and Marske United. Masked robbers, in fact. The third tie paired West Auckland Town and Bishop Auckland. Hopefully, the Crook Town tie winners will meet Tow Law Town in the next round. However, my favourite tie is in the FA Vase where Brimscombe & Thrupp face Roman Glass St George.
Getting the Blues
Did anyone notice that the top clubs in the top five divisions in England all wear blue? They were Manchester City, Ipswich, Portsmouth, Stockport County, and Chesterfield. However, when it comes to the FA Cup winners, League Cup winners, FA Trophy winners, the top four Play-Off winners, none of the clubs wear blue – Manchester United, Liverpool, Gateshead, Southampton, Oxford United, Crawley Town and Bromley.
More blues
Thorpe United Sunday Blues were proud winners of The Timclad York Sunday Morning League last season. When you win, you need to celebrate. An open-top bus seemed too extravagant for the Thorpe boys, but they went for second best and had a suitable celebration. Watch their celebrations.
Pob-a-jobbers
On 31st May, Pobbers played Windsor Royals in the Robin Woolman
Memorial Challenge Cup Final. It does sound like a case of royalty mixing with the plebs. As you can see from the picture advertising the game, the match took place at one of the world’s biggest stadiums in, er, Burnham. Pobbers ran out winners on the day, and, as you would expect, the winners enjoyed the celebrations afterwards.
Dancing in the streets
From finals to semi-finals, and what about the prestigious Wigan Cup semi-final between Winstanley and
Ashton Town? Not only was there a never-to-be-forgotten Wigan Cup semi-final taking place on the 24th May, but you could also enjoy Miss Sutcliffe’s Dancers.
Saints alive
If you have wondered where New Saints of the Cymru Premier League suddenly came from in 2006 or why Total Network Solutions suddenly disappeared, there is a simple answer. On the other hand, it has probably never even crossed your mind. Anyhow, British Telecom took Total Network Solutions, and the sponsorship ended. There was even a chance that eBay would take over as sponsor. Would the club have been renamed eBay Kick and Collect FC? The club’s present full name is The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club. You can see why they stick to New Saints.
Bringing the house down
Waiting for a penalty to be taken can be a tense moment in some games. How about this penalty, which, after it was taken, brought the house down? Watch it here.
Clapped off
It’s the end of Clapton FC. The club made one of those ‘Club Announcements’, which reads like one of those jokey things with the caption ‘Will the last one out please turn out the lights’. The last one out is, it would appear, the social media person at Clapton. According to their announcement, they have no chairman, manager, players, friendlies or trial dates. Clapton were formed in 1877 and have withdrawn from the Southern Counties East League. The club are/was nicknamed the Tons. We are unsure whether that is pronounced as ‘tuns’ or ‘tons’. Clapton were founder members of the Southern League with Millwall, Southampton, Luton Town and Reading and are described as ‘dormant’.
Man v Fat Football
There were plenty of celebrations for promotion, cup finals, etc., in April and May. A new competition called Man v Fat Football is aimed at players with a BMI of over 27.5 to play football and get points for losing weight as well as scoring goals. It’s a fascinating idea. I can only assume that at the after-game weigh-in, they then toddle off to the pub and knock back six pints to lose more weight next week. And, fancy being axed from the team because your BMI drops below 27.5. Fat Rophy will, of course, be earning a royalty from each game played in this competition.
Maxed out
Maidenhead United are about to scoop £4 million thanks to a sell-on clause in Max Kilman’s contract. Maidenhead United sold the defender to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £40,000 in 2018, but negotiated a sell-on clause. Max’s £40 million transfer to West Ham United means that Maidenhead will land a £4m windfall.
