As
we all know that period can have a massive bearing on both the relegation and
promotion outlook with twists and turns that can come with two games in three
days in front of larger than usual crowds.
I
can recall one such occasion when it did it's very best to.
My
former club Halesowen Town had kept chipping away at ambitious Rushden &
Diamonds` unassailable lead in the race for the 1996 Southern League Premier
Division title.
That
Bank Holiday Monday opened-up the race.
Diamonds
had a morning kick-off at Sudbury and the Yeltz were away at Worcester City in
the evening.
News
broke that Sudbury had beaten Roger Ashby’s side and we had a chance to close
the gap further. In the end, we could only manage to draw but it helped to take
it to the last game of the season.
With
it getting warmer, evenings are getting lighter spring is in the air and
another season would have been about to come to an end, soon so I thought I
would look back on some moments that only football can through up.
In
the 1989/90 season, Sheffield United gained promotion to the First Division led
by manager Dave Bassett.
During
that campaign they allowed the BBC cameras unprecedented access into all
aspects of life in a football club and ran a series following that season.
Each
of the six episodes featured a different aspect of the football club, from
boardroom to supporters, the apprentices and the commercial department.
One
of the most interesting and fascinating episodes of the series was that of the
players` wives/girlfriends and the ladies who work tirelessly behind the scenes
at clubs.
This
reminded me of the likes of Dot Wooldridge serving Wolves for many years or
Sheila Horn of Arsenal.
The
programme - known as ‘United’ showed an industry very different from today’s
world, featuring players who were far removed from a game awash with cameras on
the field. It filmed the players at home on a Friday evening and the wives at
work on a Saturday – what would most of the WAGS be doing now on a Saturday?
I
am talking days of just score updates on the radio, Grandstand, World Of Sport, Teletext
and Ceefax to keep you up to date.
For
non-League followers, it was difficult to have updates whilst a game was being
played out. Sometimes the Saturday Pink `Un was the first port of call for
those or Teletext when you got home or possibly local radio at around 5.30 pm.
The
programme showed the human element of football players wives worrying about new
contracts for their husbands. Will they have to move house? Will they need to
find the children a new school?
These
are issues that still affect players families regularly and staff also, but, of
course, at the top level you are dealing with much more money for players these
days and possibly homeschooling or private education comes into it
But
you can imagine Friday night still now being the biggest and sometimes the most
difficult for players as essential preparation, whether that be at home with
the other halves or in a hotel with their team-mates.
Two
players that were featured in the programme were Paul Stancliffe and Wilf
Rostron and particularly the relationship they had with their wives. The latter
was feeling the strain as his contract was up end of the season and of course, it affected his wife Jill as well. It showed though what a great spirit they
had together and how Jill knew her husband and when to talk about the game or
not to say anything.
When
they played away, some of the wives would spend the evening in each other’s
company. It can be a lonely existence and the friendship they endured and
developed, be it through the crčche at Bramall Lane at home games or the odd
club events helped create another aspect of how important team spirit is.
Paul’s
wife Janet gave a fantastic insight into life married to a footballer and how
this successful football team that her husband played in meant so much to her
as well. Whilst Paul would spend Saturday afternoons playing, she would work at
Marks & Spencer`s.
During
the week and on Saturdays when United where playing away, like the supporters,
Janet and Jill caught up in the emotion of the promotion race and like the
fans, they wondered if it would last the season.
For
Janet, although she was working Saturday afternoons, she made sure that she
kept tabs in the shop on the score how the team and more importantly her
husband was doing.
When
there were eight games to go, United were second in Division Two and the next
fixture was Portsmouth away.
The
chance of promotion was a reality and for Janet, she was feeling the drama and
the possible sense of achievement.
She
said: “It is in their own hands but so much can happen in the next four weeks
the pressure is getting to me to be quite honest.
Even
her mum was caught up in ringing her at work to let her know how they were
getting on.
The
programme ended with Janet in front of the TV screens at work waiting for the
results to come through.
It
was not a good day for United, losing 3-2 and the other teams getting the
results they want which made it a little bit tighter.
You
could sense her disappointment. But it did turn out to be a happy ending as
they got promoted.
This
was passion for the game at its best.
(Gavin Blackwell has been involved in the game for over
30 years and has shown great dedication during that time as the physio for a
handful of local non-League clubs, most notably Halesowen Town, but also
Oldbury United, Tividale, Stourbridge and Hednesford Town, as well as assisting
the Wolves academy and WBA reserves.) |