Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Manchester Phoenix AFC

I picked up an interesting story on Twitter last night from a club I knew nothing of – Manchester Phoenix AFC who are raffling off the sponsorship of their magnificent new kits. Yes, I had heard of this before but it was interesting to be involved in a real-time event. There are still a few spots left so if you are interested in getting involved make contact with Zoe Beck, as below.

I contacted Zoe to know more and she sent me a most interesting personal reply.

“Steve, our club Manchester Phoenix AFC was formally known as Old Trafford United FC based in the Greater Manchester Area. I took over the club in October 2020 and decided that I wanted to rebuild the club and become more community focused.

We started on a little field in Sale, Manchester with only 6 players and since I’ve been in charge we now have a First and Second Men’s open age Teams from 18 years up and the club has currently around 80 members made up of players and volunteers. We have this year partnered up with an amazing community based charity known as 0161 community who promote a strong, unified Mancunian working class identity – people of all backgrounds uniting to take control of their neighbourhoods. They seek to empower the unheard and provide youth with skills, guidance and confidence. They have two hubs where they provide sanitary products, clothes, food and toys for children. They also provide free activities for kids such as Boxing, Art, Football and music.

So throughout this year we will be fundraising and raising as much awareness for them. As Chairlady if you had told me this time last year I would be running a football club, I would most probably have laughed, but it really is the most enjoyable experience. The buzz of being at the side of the pitch is like a experience I can’t explain.  It has its ups and downs but I wouldn’t change a thing. I have a great team behind me in the form of President and First Team Manager Nigel, Club Secretary Tom and Vice Secretary CJ and Second Team Manager Grant and his assistant manager Aaron. And my players are not just my players they’re like my sons and whilst I’m chair I’m going to do my very best for them, as they do for me when they step out into the pitch.”

If this resonates with you, please contact Zoe and who knows for just £25 you could be the shirt sponsor in just the same way Carling and Guinness, Sharp and Chevrolet have been. Good Luck! I have also been asked to give a BIG shout out for GripActive who have been a great partner and have designed and produced this stunning kit.

Website: Manchesterphoenixafc.co.uk
Facebook: @manphoenixafc
Twitter: manphoenix_afc
Instagram: manchesterphoenixafc

I am sad to announce the death of one of the game’s Great Entertainers, Frank Worthington (b.23/11/48, Halifax)

I wrote a blog about Frank back in September 2020 prompted by an email from his daughter,Kim. The overwhelming response to a previous Facebook forum post by me about Frank was that he was uniquely loved by everybody in football. I span a few of the anecdotes and memories into an article and forwarded it to Kim hoping it would give his family some joy. I am devasted to now write after his death.

All the Facebook fan forums and all the Twitter threads have a common theme today. Frank was a man loved by every football fan. Even the supporters of his opponents have been rich in their praise. This is almost unheard of. I have read literally hundreds and hundreds of posts in the last 24 hours. Without exception, every single fan has hailed him as a legendary player, a great entertainer and someone who could single-handedly make an unexceptional game magical. Hundreds have lamented his lack of England caps, his lack of medals in Europe and, perhaps the greatest compliment ever, “Oh, if only he had played for us. We’d have won everything.” Manchester United and Liverpool fans wince when they realise just how close they were to signing him. Leicester, Birmingham City and Bolton fans recall goal after goal, anecdote after anecdote. Sunderland and Southampton fans remember his successful stints whilst Huddersfield fans all remember knowing that the precocious kid was indeed going to be a star.

It is invidious to quote just a few of the many tributes but I especially liked these. All are quoted with permission:
“I attended a charity dinner in Northern Ireland when Frank was guest speaker. He told about playing against Tommy Smith (Liverpool) when he beat Tommy on the outside, beat him in on the inside, did a drag back, then nutmegged him and crossed the ball to his teammate who scored!!!!Tommy chased Frank back to the halfway line for the centre, roaring his head off shouting to Frank, “If you try that again I’ll break you in pieces and stamp on whatever’s left over. You’re not going to leave this place alive!!!”
Frank shouted to the ref, “Ref, ref, did you hear that??” The ref said, “I think Tommy was talking to you Frank!”
Ian Getty, Ballymena Utd fan and a real fan of all football nostalgia!

“About 5 or 6 years ago I was sat in a pub in Meriden and sitting a table away from me was Frank Worthington. I said to my wife, “He scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen.” So my wife said, ” Go and tell him.” So I did. Immediately Frank jumped and said, “Shall I talk you through it?” And he then demonstrated what he did in the middle of the bar using me as the defender. We had a 10 minute chat about old footy and he was so eager to talk .When he asked me who I supported and I said Coventry , he said “You lot always gave me some stick but so did everyone else but I loved it.” Only a few weeks later his daughter announced he was was suffering with Alzheimers but you would never have known . Of course Frank denied it …
Claudio Cardellino, Coventry City and football fanatic.

If anybody else has tributes that they would like added, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Frank Worthington, The Great Entertainer, R.I.P

Welcome to For The Terraces.

We capture you most iconic sporting memories and embroider them onto premium crew neck tees. We provide you, the most dedicated sporting fans, with a minimalistic clothing design that allows you to show off your favourite team or sporting memory. Whether it’s on the terraces for a matchday, at the pub after your game at the weekend, or out for dinner with the other half, we’ve got you covered with a stylish, comfortable and timeless tee for all occasions.

For The Terraces was founded at the beginning of 2021. We have always had a passion for sports. Win, lose or draw, we’ll be there, cheering on our favourite team! And we’ve always wanted to combine that passion for sports with our other passion in life; fashion and retail. And with that, For The Terraces were born. 

Since then, we have created over 50 unique sporting designs. Our tee’s capture the most iconic celebrations, the infamous match winning moments, and the cult heroes who earn legendary status with the fans. 

All of our tee’s a manufactured with natural organic cotton making them both soft and durable. Each tee is finished with an intricate embroidered design to bring your sporting memory to life. We believe in sustainable fashion, and that’s why all of our products are manufactured using low-impact raw materials in specialist facilitates powered by renewable energy sources.

Come and recapture your favourite iconic sporting memory!

@ForTheTerraces | www.fortheterraces.com

• 

I got a nice post from Ben at Old Pepys Veterans yesterday. He is very excited about their new 2nd kit. I got a sneak view of the design. Oh, what a beauty. An absolute beauty.

He said, “Our brand new away kit has been designed and is currently in the process of being produced ready for the return of football. We cannot wait to be out on the pitch in these beauties from EV2 Sportswear. Thank you to our club sponsor and partner The Dog & Bell in Deptford.” 

London’s Fields: An Intimate History of London Football Fandom celebrates the turbulent rivalries, local antagonisms and even, on occasion, the fraternal harmonies held in common by the supporters of the capital’s many professional football teams.

The us and them dichotomy of a local derby is told here through the voices of us, the fans. In a one-club town or city your choice of team would appear to be simple. However, in a city with a dozen clubs the choice is less straightforward. London is a place of constant flux and change; it’s diasporic nature may have taken people far from their ancestral heartlands but the football clubs that remain there have, in a sense, travelled with them – local bragging rights and capital gains remain just as important.

The author’s upbringing was steeped in football, he has played and coached the game; written on it and worked in it. His less than conventional path to choosing his own team forms the foundation upon which the stories of other fans are richly rendered.

To contact the author or to purchase the book: pitchpublishing.co.uk or Twitter (@LondonsFields).
Order through Amazon, Waterstones, Hive and WH Smith’s

East Kent School and Workwear Centre

I was talking to my friends at Old Pepys Veterans recently and they were very excited about their new sponsors. It’s easy for the Manchester Uniteds and Liverpools of this world to attract sponsors at millions of pounds a time but the further down the leagues you go, the more difficult it becomes. I said to Ben to put me in touch with the sponsors and I would be happy to give them a little love. A few days later, I got a nice tweet from Pete Morris at East Kent School and Workwear Centre and thanked him for his support.

I asked how the company got involved and why they decided to support the vets. He said, “Well, we are a school and workwear supplier in our 2nd quarter of trading. We are a family run business with myself, mother and sister. Due to shortages and obstacles in obtaining school uniform during the pandemic and realising I had a supply chain right under my nose we decided to start the business. We got involved in the club due to my personal involvement in it and I suggested from the off that a small investment in shirt space would infinitely improve our ability to find clients…so we did. I’ve know Ben for over 10 years now and we’ve always been involved I grassroots football and now the timing seemed perfect to align our thoughts again.”

So, here we have it a small new start business supporting a small new start club. It sounds a perfect mix. I wished Pete (a Charlton fan) every success and said I hoped to catch up for a coffee when this xxxxshow is over. I promised to add him to a new website I am building www.MegaExpo.co.uk
in appreciation for his efforts. It’s the least I can do.

If you are a club with a sponsor you would like to showcase or if you sponsor a club, drop me a line here and I will be happy to do what I can for you too. No cost, my way of thanking those who support The Beautiful Game in these difficult times.

Stay safe, everyone.

• 

Football Shirts For Charity 5k Virtual Fun Run

Looking for a weekend activity that combines fitness and fun in a virtual 5km run/walk? Join us in the Football Shirts For Charity free virtual event which hopes to encourage us all to get out and active and post a photo in our favourite football shirt. Run on your own to get a PB, go out for a family walk or do a relay 5k.

Share your photo on twitter with #FSFC5kDay and see details below.

• 

Well, it’s been quite a ride. Firstly let me apologise for the lack of new posts. Here’s a Readers’ Digest. On 14th November I had a cardiac arrest – full works. I was “dead” for 75 seconds and brought back to life by the ambulance staff. In all honesty, I felt nothing. I can’t say I had a chest pain or any pain. One moment I was OK. The next thing was coming round in Charing Cross Hospital. The next day, I was transferred to Hammersmith Hospital where I was successfully operated on. From there it was to Ealing Clayponds where I spent two weeks in a Covid isolation ward and now three months later, I am very fortunate to be alive.

I am out of care, off oxygen and in a hospital discharge unit. I also broke my tib/fib and unfortunately that has not mended well but that’s not life-threatening. No sweat. Hence my radio silence.

Before I do anything, I want to thank everybody who has been in contact to wish me well. Your kind thoughts were appreciated greatly. Thanks.

I’m still in bed 24 hours a day and one of the things that has kept me sane is a new passion for jigsaws. I don’t think I had done one in 50 years but I really enjoy them and have found and created hundreds. It will come as a surprise to nobody that many are football-related. I have added a few here and hope you enjoy doing them too!

Oops! I see that the hospital has a very strong firewall and it won’t let me upload the jigsaws, I will find a workround. Be right back!

• 

A very interesting press releases about Brentford FC came on my desk this morning. I thought it deserved to be shared. A dream role for somebody.

Brentford FC are looking for a new Board member to lead the way in community engagement

Unique opportunity to join the Brentford FC Board of Directors

Brentford FC are recruiting an Independent Non-Executive Director to sit on the Board of Directors. The Club is currently near the top of the Sky Bet Championship and has, in the past six months, moved in to a new stadium situated equidistant between London Heathrow airport and central London and at the heart of the West London community. Key Board objectives are based on our desire to become the most inclusive club in the country, growing and diversifying our supporter base, delivering outstanding fan and community engagement and increasing our revenues through purpose led commercial partnerships.

In order to realise our ambitions, we realise diversity must run through the entire organisation and must start from the top. We are looking for a new person to sit on our Board with the right mix of skills, knowledge and energy to help us do that. In order to complement the skills of our existing directors, we are looking for someone with demonstrable senior experience and skills in the areas of community, supporter or stakeholder engagement.

Whilst having proven strategic experience in a similar role would be advantageous, in line with our inclusive outlook and desire to increase diversity, we are willing to look more broadly at people with a different skill set, who may be able to effectively fulfil the same role. Our current board of eight contains gender and ethnic diversity but in line with our ambitions and clear evidence that more diverse boards make better decisions, we are casting our net more widely.

Whilst we are striving for diversity, we absolutely commit to selecting the best candidate for the job, who best performs throughout a fair and transparent selection process.

Brentford FC is a signatory to The FA’s Diversity Code, and as such commits to shortlisting at least one person of ethnic or gender diversity for this role, in addition to any shortlisted candidates who may already have been considered if necessary. This additional candidate will still need to fulfil all of the requirements listed in the Role Description.

For more details and to apply for this role, please click here.

Well, it’s been quite a ride. Firstly let me apologise for the lack of new posts. Here’s a Readers’ Digest. On 14th November I had a cardiac arrest – full works. I was “dead” for 75 seconds and brought back to life by the ambulance staff. In all honesty, I felt nothing. I can’t say I had a chest pain or any pain. One moment I was OK. The next thing was coming round in Charing Cross Hospital. The next day, I was transferred to Hammersmith Hospital where I was successfully operated on. From there it was to Ealing Clayponds where I spent two weeks in a Covid isolation ward and now three months later, I am very fortunate to be alive.

I am out of care, off oxygen and in a hospital discharge unit. I also broke my tib/fib and unfortunately that has not mended well but that’s not life-threatening. No sweat. Hence my radio silence.

Before I do anything, I want to thank everybody who has been in contact to wish me well. Your kind thoughts were appreciated greatly. Thanks.

I’m still in bed 24 hours a day and one of the things that has kept me sane is a new passion for jigsaws. I don’t think I had done one in 50 years but I really enjoy them and have found and created hundreds. It will come as a surprise to nobody that many are football-related. I have added a few here and hope you enjoy doing them too!

Oops! I see that the hospital has a very strong firewall and it won’t let me upload the jigsaws, I will find a workround. Be right back!