Written by Nick Upton
Stand-in Carlton Town captain Alex Troke lifts the Notts Senior Cup after leading his side to a 6-2 victory over Rainworth Miners Welfare
This season’s been probably the most interesting I’ve experienced in my life so far, it must be said. The beginning of every new campaign means ringing in the changes but I didn’t really foresee quite how much it would affect me from a fan’s perspective and in terms of day-to-day life. 2013-14 has introduced me to new levels of football, new clubs, a new job and a hell of a lot of great people along the way. In this post, I’m going to expand upon 5 different things that I’ve either learnt or done since the very start of the season.
1. REDISCOVERED MY LOVE FOR THE GAME
Taken at Southport v Boston United
Some people who know me well will have known that I went off football for a short while towards the end of last season (2012/13) due to many reasons. I think after a while you do get a bit sick of the same things and need a break. That break was ice hockey and it lasted for about half a season. Take nothing away from hockey, but it’s not football and in the UK it needs to find its own identity, as do the fans. Many of whom like to make comparisons with between their sport and football. I’ve got news for you, the football community doesn’t give a toss about your sport. Those of us who do care will go to games for the enjoyment, not necessarily because we feel one sport is better than the other.
What I will say on this subject is that ice hockey didn’t do it for me. The atmosphere makes me cringe, the music played at every opportunity was some of the worst I’ve ever heard. The happy-clappy family thing just doesn’t appeal to me. I acknowledge the fact that it does to some and that’s fine, it’s just A) Not what I’m used to, and B) A bit TOO friendly.
Moving onto the latter of those two points, I took the plunge into non-league football and chose to support Boston United this season, rather than sticking with the financially poisoned apex of the English footballing pyramid. Granted, Forest aren’t in the Premier League and they won’t be next season either, but the financial allure of the Premier League has began to spread down into the Championship too, I personally believe. As a young lad supporting Forest, we were financially stable and decent. I started properly supporting them in the 2000/01 season so I’ve never known the club to be bankrolled until now. Granted, Nigel Doughty was an extremely wealthy man, but he had limits. Fawaz Al-Hasawi, whilst clearly a man with a deep love for Forest, has turned the Reds into almost exactly what I dislike about modern football. A lot of people submit themselves to the cliché ‘AGAINST MODERN FOOTBALL’ but never, ever do anything about it (and no, your one flare or smoke bomb isn’t doing something about it). I genuinely felt as if the identity of Nottingham Forest had changed and I’m not willing to be a part of it. I’ll still look for results and wish them well, but I won’t be returning to the City Ground any time soon. If you want to do something about it, don’t submit yourself to it.
Boston are an odd choice when it comes to this situation because they’re not exactly angels when it comes to money and finances either (I point you in the direction of Steve Evans) but it’s a club I’ve been fond of for a number of years and a club that is now run very well, by brilliant people. We take numbers away from home, create a good atmosphere most of the time and play football the right way. The fanbase is also much more friendlier than that of Forest, in my experience. It took me a train journey and 5 minutes to start making friends with Boston fans. It took me 17 years to meet anyone at a Forest game. For all-round experience, non-league wins hands-down and I’m glad I made the transition.
MSV Duisburg also played a part in grabbing my interest in football again. This is explained here on my personal blog.
2. GROUNDHOPPED
Butlin Road – Rugby Town v Kettering
Another thing that I’ve done for the first time this season is groundhop. Groundhopping is something I probably won’t ever do properly until I’m much, much older, but I still find it interesting now. Boston and Carlton both had a lot of games postponed around the winter period of this season, which meant I had free time to do what I wanted. Visiting grounds I otherwise wouldn’t, became a bit of a ‘thing’. It led me to Butlin Road (Rugby Town v Kettering), The Pirelli Stadium (Burton Albion v Dagenham & Redbridge), The Silverlands (Buxton v Marine), Marston Road (Stafford Rangers v Skelmersdale United) and many other grounds for a different purpose that I’ll get onto in a short while.
The thing I like about groundhopping is that not only do you get to these places you wouldn’t usually make the effort for, you also meet people and gain respect for different clubs. There are many clubs I didn’t manage to visit this season, that I’ve pencilled in for the next campaign, including AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Nuneaton Griff, Bromley, Fakenham Town and if I’m feeling ambitious – Crowborough Athletic. One day, I may even take up the opportunity to go abroad, we’ll wait and see!
3. AWAY DAYS
Those days every football fan looks forward to. I’d never been away with Forest, I’d only watched them at the City Ground, mainly because living in Leicestershire and latterly Stafford meant that I had nobody to go with. With Boston I went away a few times, I would’ve been to far more had I not began my adventure in part 5 of this blog post. I absolutely loved every away day with Boston. I complain about Brackley a lot, but it’s one of those awkward journeys that when you complete it, you feel you’ve earnt the right to sing your heart out and enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
My favourite memories from this season include the Carl Piergianni winner against Southport, caught in the video above and going away to Barrow (a far better day out that we were told it’d be). Each game brought its own memories, many of them captured on photos stored on my phone and laptop. There’s nothing quite like going to little towns and cities you’ve never visited before, with your mates and having a laugh.
4. JOINED CARLTON TOWN
Carlton Town v Goole
Let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to do a review of my season without mentioning Carlton at all, was I? By far and away the best decision I’ve made in my life as a football fan and as a fan of the sport in general was joining Carlton Town. At one point, it didn’t look as if it was going to happen, but after finally getting the chance to sit down with the chairman, have a bit to drink and produce some work to show him what I could do, I was taken on as chief scout and I’ve loved every minute of it. Getting behind-the-scenes at a football club is a lot of fun and genuinely interesting. It’s also nice to feel your role holds a degree of responsibility and I’d like to think that I’ve contributed somewhat towards helping the club along this season. The big thing for me personally, is that we go one better next season and get into the play offs. The cup run from this season was fantastic though, beating FC United of Manchester was a real achievement for a club like ours and just shows how far we’ve come in recent years, it’d be nice to think we could be competing with the likes of them on a regular basis in a couple of seasons’ time.
Travelling the country to aid the club has been an absolute joy and it’s really helped me rack up a wide variety of grounds that I’d otherwise probably not visit. I’ve even got to the stage now where if I’m given an awkward team to visit in terms of location, I just see it as a part of the challenge. I obviously still have a lot to learn and I only intend on improving even further and helping the club progress. A big thank you has to go out to the chairman Mick Garton who decided to take a chance on a 21 year-old who lives around 50 miles away from where the club is actually based. It naturally means a lot to be entrusted in such a role. Also thanks to manager Les McJannet and all the players I’ve come across this season when filling in on the press officer job when required.
5. CHANGED MY OPINION ON SENIOR CUPS
Carlton v Rainworth Miners Welfare in the Notts Senior Cup
You may or may not know that Carlton won and successfully defended the Notts Senior Cup this season, beating Rainworth Miners Welfare 6-2 at Hucknall’s Watnall Road. We did it with a 12 man squad and as the scoreline probably suggests, we absolutely deserved it.
Before we even reached the final, my opinion of the Senior Cup was pretty low. I wasn’t overly keen on it and I didn’t see why it took priority over the likes of the Doodson Cup (Northern Premier League League Cup for those who don’t know). However, after the game, my opinion changed on the competition. OK so we won, but that’s not why. It got me thinking, how great is it that we have these competitions that stretch across the county? I think, if advertised well enough and in the correct manner, Senior Cup games should be a big community thing. If they were played on Saturdays, perhaps they would be, but instead they’re played predominantly in midweek. Done properly, these kinds of games could really help to swell local clubs’ attendances throughout the season. We all want to see non-league getting the crowds it deserves and I really think this is a competition we should look at utilising.
There are teams in the competition that we wouldn’t ususally play as it stretches from the Evo-Stik Prem all the way down to the Notts Senior League, so what a great way to celebrate local football? Back in the day, County Cups used to be a big thing and the likes of Forest, Notts and Mansfield used to take part in it regardless of what league they were in. Sadly, that’s no longer the case, and it’s become more of a non-league thing which actually suits me just fine. You’d imagine that the likes of Forest would probably walk the competition now, even if they put their reserves out there, so I suppose it does now at least create a level playing field.
All that remains to be said is that I’m obviously delighted that we finished the season with some silverware and I’m also happy for everyone at the club, with the fact that we’ve successfully defended the cup we won last season. Well done to all involved and as previously mentioned, let’s push a bit further next season and seek at least a play off spot!
Thanks for reading
Under The Floodlights 