Arcticterntalk.org
The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world
Archive for the tag “walton and hersham”
Walton and Hersham 1 East Grinstead 1 . A poor game
As I have been watching Walton since the days of their FA Amateur cup win at Wembley, where then the bulk of their team was the team that became Wimbledon under Allen Batsford, maybe it is fair comment to say that last saturday was one of the worst games of football I have ever seen there and indeed am struggling to think of anywhere else. I realise this is Ryman South but for 9£ standards need to be a little higher than sunday park football.
The ground is starting to look derelict with the terrace area along the pitch now boarded up for safety reasons. It is also fair to say that there was no air of positivity in the crowd, which recently hovers around 100 hardy souls.
Here are my photographic memories. The most memorable moment? The Walton keeper hitching his shorts up in some strange manner, which clearly put off the East Grinstead striker who subsequently took a poor penalty that was easily saved. The second most memorable moment? The cheeseburger.
Referee Mr C Green Ryman South
World Food Photos. Like food, like photographs of food
Just a various eclectic mix of food photos taken in various locations. Nothing special. Just enjoy and be hungry.
Coconut Tart
Sliders and Beef Wellingtons
Greyhound Rescue Centre. Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare.
http://www.hershamhounds.org.uk
This rescue centre is actually in Hersham not Wimbledon but derives its name from the Wimbledon Dog Track not too far away. Rescue is maybe the wrong word. These greyhounds finish their racing life maybe aged 5 years and are mostly less than ideally or maybe not at all socialised. This centre works with them to train them and then home them. Each day anyone can go along and walk a greyhound. contrary to popular opinion then need quite short often gentle walks of maybe 20-30 minutes only and are kind docile dogs. the centre is an independent charity.
Whereas some dogs can be homed relatively quickly for others it may never be possible or take 3-4 years.
Burhill Kennels, Turners Lane, Hersham, Surrey. KT12 4AW. Tel: 01932 224 918
Opening Times are from 11am to 2pm each day
Football Ticket Prices Fall and Potentially Football is Free now in 2014
Going to football games is not a cheap hobby. Let me give you an example. A ticket for an away Brentford fan at Peterborough on New Years day costs £25 if bought in advance and £28 on the day. This is for a standard league 1 game. It is good to see a few initiatives from football clubs to overcome this and potentially help themselves too. Lets not forget that ticket revenue is only one source of income, sales of items from club shops, burgers and programmes also contribute. At a recent home game Brentford in league 1 took around £11,500 in catering income alone, and let me tell you their catering is no Fat Duck. Lets examine a few of the good guys:
- In 2013 Brentford had a ” pay what you want” game. The deal was simply you choose what you pay and anything over 5£ for the ticket was donated to a sports charity. The only thing asked was that the ticket was bought in advance. They also had a similar venture in 2012 however sadly on that day the game was postponed due to adverse weather.
- In 2014 on February 3rd, the game between Hastings v Walton and Hersham in Ryman South , is a ” choose your own admission fee” game. The rationale here is that the game was previously abandoned after 61 minutes and this now has to be replayed. The only costs that Hastings are aiming to recover are the travelling costs for the away club ( fair enough) and the match officials. All other monies will be donated to St Michaels Hospice. A great and sensible initiative . Any locals who do not normally watch Ryman league football should come on down and give it a try, potentially at zero/little cost.
- As a season ticket holder at Brentford we have a great offer for all season ticket holders to be able to purchase up to 4 tickets each for £5 for the home game versus Port Vale on Jan 11th. They must be bought in advance and not available on the day. Yet another piece of good marketing and good common sense from Mark Devlin and the team at Brentford.January is a fiscally challenging month for most and initiatives like these do really help.
- In 2014 on Jan 4th Basingstoke v Tonbridge Angels in Conference South (Skrill South) is essentially pay what you want minimum £1. On the excellent club website, Sarah Parsons explains“‘This is a gesture to the whole town and outlying districts, we are giving something back to the community by allowing people to come to the match for a price which they decide. We know that January can be tough on family budgets so come to the football match and spend the day with us, and in the clubhouse afterwards. We really want to open our doors for people to come and see us, old fans and new fans, everybody is welcome. Maybe family, friends or workmates of existing fans have always been shy to come along in the past. We have the exciting prospect of a new ground in the pipeline but why not come along and start supporting your local football team now? We know many will still support the likes of Arsenal & Chelsea in the big Premiership matches, that’s fine, but maybe if people came along to see football at this level they may be pleasantly surprised. Ultimately the Town’s football team will be what we as citizens of the Town make it. We have to set a £1 minimum entrence fee due to rules but hopefully people will give us more as every penny helps a small club like ours to grow to become something that the whole Borough can be proud of in future. Tonbridge Angels are a good side in our league and we anticipate a good competitve league match. Our team currently sit in or very close to the league play off positions so it would be great if as many people as possible came through the gates to roar their Town on and hopefully towards victory on the day and ultimately promotion to the Conference National league at the end of this season “This is an initiative that should be supported and encouraged. www.basingstoketown.net/the-club/town-announce-happy-new-year-day/. Lets us hope that more clubs will go down this route. Nonleague football is a great game and often skill and excitement levels are equal to those in some of the lower leagues. The catering is undeniably better than at league clubs!
Walton and Hersham 1 Ramsgate 1
By chance the second time in a few weeks that I have seen Ramsgate play. A decent enough game played in a low atmosphere ground with a crowd of 100 in attendance. The ground is essentially one sided now with the condemning of the main terrace stand. Walton have had a mixed start to the season under their new manager Steve Baker and on the evidence of yesterday they are a work in progress but going in the right direction. They played good football and generally were entertaining. Ramsgate played a lot more of the physical stuff and a little less of the football, but nevertheless a decent team. The game got off to a bizarre start as firstly kick off was delayed by 45 minutes due to a major M25 accident. In the second minute Ramsgate had their full-back carried off with what looked like ligament issues. In the fith minute Ramsgate had their number 11 sent off, maybe harshly. Not long after Ramsgate scored and although Walton chased the game it was not until the 80th minute that Walton equalised with a new header from their impressive number 9, Will Turl. He also had the opportunity to score again in the final minutes with an identical move and header but fell just short. Interesting aspects of the game? The referee made any number of errors, do not blame him for that, but why not at least consult with the linesman? The Ramsgate goalkeeper, although competent certainly had eaten some if not all of the pies. All in all end to end stuff and at this level a highly entertaining game.
Something for real football fans to read and mull over the implications for many non-league clubs
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Disallowed Walton goal.Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe
Walton V Ramsgate. Copyright Chris Bushe. Will Turl
Stompond Lane. The Home of Walton and Hersham FC
Stompond lane has been the home of Walton and Hersham, who now play in the Ryman South division, ever since I began watching the club almost 50 years ago. There have been some famous moments. Walton have played FA Cup first round games here in front of thousands of spectators including against Exeter and Brighton, managed then by Brian Clough. Walton also won the Amateur cup in 1973. Things however have been declining since then almost consistently. Far from being one of the best non-league clubs they are now one of the smallest in crowd terms at their level and things may get even worse. The council plan to redevelop Stompond Lane and force Walton and Hersham to share with their neighbours, also in Ryman South, Walton Casuals. This plan has not been met with joy by either club however statements only a week ago suggest that this plan to redevelop Stompond Lane is becoming fairly final.
I do not know enough to really make an informed decision here however one can see a number of aspects that make some sense. The crowd base of both clubs is around 100 each and does this warrant two individual football grounds in Walton? The population of Walton, which is where the club is based, a few miles from Hersham, in 2011 was 24,137. Neither ground is perfect, although each has character and reasonable parking. Yesterday I visited to see Walton play Ramsgate. The crowd was 102. Down at Walton Casuals yesterday the crowd was 163 boosted somewhat by the good start Casuals have had to the season where they top the league. What is currently proposed is that the two clubs share Walton Casuals ground. What might equally be proposed is that these two clubs if this happens might be candidates to merge in the future. Should either of these things happen?
- Stompond Lane is becoming very run down. The whole ground, and I love this ground, is becoming almost untenable. The clubhouse looks sad and jaded and does not invite visitations. The main stand has a huge number of seats missing, plastic bucket seats, that are attached to wooden benches. Many have been removed.
- The stand opposite the main stand had warnings yesterday that it could not be used. When this is combined with the fact that no-one stands behind the goals, as the pitch has a running track around it, meaning that behind the goal is almost placing spectators in the centre of the town, the net effect is that this is now a one sided ground with little or even zero atmosphere.
- The council have recently introduced parking restrictions on Stompond lane, meaning that 2 hours is the maximum one may park before being fined some hideous amount. Realistically most fans spend nearer 3 hours at each game. This means that parking is now effectively limited to the club’s car park, which is ample and fine for the kind of recent crowds, but gives little hope that the crowd base if ever improved would have anywhere to park.
- Should the clubs ever consider amalgamation, they would concieve a club that had a fan base at lowest of around 200 and potentially more like 250-300. This is moving towards the size needed for Ryman Premier football. Although Walton Casuals sit top of the league, should they get promoted one wonders whether things will be in any way successful or lead to an immediate return to this level. The clubs might consider Inverness, who before joining the Scottish football league had three separate clubs. They all combined and have risen as of yesterday to actually top the Scottish Premiership. Maybe this kind of success might not happen in Walton but maybe also it should be considered. Who should vote on this? Certainly not myself, a visitor now maybe 2-3 times a season, but the 263 fans who do come week in and week out.
On my football grounds website I have many photographs of Stompond Lane and should the club move I shall add many more http://www.footballgroundz.co.uk
A good report on recent matters can also be found here
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/new-plans-submitted-stompond-lane-5908373
A few here however just to introduce the novice to the ground that is and was Stompond Lane.
Stompond Lane. Copyright. Chris Bushe
Stompond Lane. Copyright. Chris Bushe
Stompond Lane. Copyright. Chris Bushe
Walton Casuals 2 Walton and Hersham 2. A Photo Fest
This game to almost both teams surprise was a relegation 6-pointer with the prize for the loser being an ever increasing chance of relegation to the Combined Counties League. The reality was the game was dire, without much atmosphere,passion and devoid of skill, and both teams frankly look awful enough to deserve relegation. A summary of the game would be two scrappy goals for Walton and Hersham in the first half and two equally scrappy goals ( if one can count a penalty that ought not to have been given, as almost the last kick of the game) for Walton Casuals in the second half. For mitigating factors one can count the wind which was brisk and arctic, but such a devoid absence of skill I have not seen at any level for some time now. I will also confess to supporting both these teams, and in fact have been watching Walton and Hersham for almost 50 years. When one also looks at the crowd that this local derby generated, about 150, it is clear that a small town like Walton cannot host two teams at this level, and the return fixture a month ago drew only 115 souls.
Enough of the moaning. Some halfway decent action shots.
Good ball control
The ball did cross the line. The first Walton goal
Keeper punching seemingly into his own goal
More keeper action
Scrappy Walton Casuals first goal
Penalty
Walton 0 Dulwich Hamlet 3
Just when i was getting excited about watching Walton again, as Rochdale seemed a little too far to travel today to watch Brentford, they go and lose two games in a week without scoring a goal. In mitigation on tuesday night Whitehawk were a good team, maybe one of the most accomplished teams at this level I had seen for some while, and Dulwich also sit near the top of the table. The game started brightly and for the first half for 43 minutes Walton were on top but without looking like scoring and the game changed with Dulwich scoring a penalty just before half-time. The second half was dull and Dulwich always looked like scoring more goals, whereas Walton looked like their players had never met before. the Walton players who caught the eye were Rodney Chiweshe, the keeper, and Adriano Moraes playing in midfield, who I learned by eavesdropping, he is Romanian and 33 yrs old and played profesionally there.
The main talk however at the club is about the council forcing them to move grounds. Put simply it seems the club thought they had a deal whereby a few houses were built on some of the land, the athletics club moved out to a new stadium ( funded by said houses ) and the ground was essentially rebuilt and modernised. Not much has happened to modernise the ground in the last 50 years – no exagerration there either. The council want Walton to move in with their Ryman League neighbours Walton Casuals , and that ground will be improved. In the clubhouse for the next month there is a model of the proposed amends to to the existing site and petitions to be signed and forms to be filled in. On balance I dont want the club to move and the online petition can be found at http://www.waltonandhershamfc.org.uk/thefuture. The club can be emailed at waltonandhershamfc@yourshout.org with any comments or questions. There however is another side of the coin. Crowds at Walton have been poor for years reflecting a number of poor seasons with sides that change almost weekly giving no real consistency for fans. There also seems to have been little attempt by the club to make links with other local sides in the league to get players on loan. Finally I have not seen any efforts to really try and increase crowd size, like free entry for children or any other campaigns to get Walton noticed. So, we have a club that gets crowds of around 100, with playing staffs changing monthly, towards the lower end of the league in a ground with poor facilities ( like an almost total absence of toilets). Despite these foibles I am very fond of Walton having seen them since 5 years old and recall well David Bassett and others playing for them.
Anyway, make your own mind up , but I would like them to stay. But the deal is this for my support. Please dont just recycle the same 3 songs before the game and at half time! If you want some music just ask me and I can put some on a disc or whatever suits! I think we had Sweet Child of Mine twice or three times today. Lastly, they do have the best burger van i know of. It is well worth eating your tea there, burger and chips at very reasonable prices!
Rodney Chiweshe beaten by penaltyStompond Lane home of Walton and HershamTerraceMain stand at Stompond LaneCurious clearance from dulwich defenderMichael Gordon, interesting winger and great hairstyleWhat happened next when rodney missed the punch?
A Great Place
The rants and warblings of an active and some would say disturbed mind. A Brentford Fc supporter and a psychiatrist and photographer. Welcome to my musings and rants.
chris1957
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