[Archived] Local Footy

[Presty On Tour]

Tonight will see myself play the first friendly of the new season for my local side St Ishmaels FC, a village in South West Wales on the coastal Path route.

The Pembrokeshire league we play in has produced 2 premiership players in recent times, Mark Delaney and Simon Davies. So even though we are so far away it proves that if you have the talent or potential you can make the top.

Over the last 8 weeks, we have been putting in the hard graft training Tuesday and Thursday nights for 3 hours at a time. Feeling in good shape and looking forward to the events tonight.

Last season wasn't the greatest in all honesty, we finished 9th out of 18 teams mainly due to the fact we were always out on Friday nights hitting the pubs and clubs and then going back to a house party until kick off on Saturday afternoon. When your feeling a a little fragile it's not pretty when some 20 stone centre back flattens you in a 50/50 tackle.

I play up front or in the hole sounds better. I've got bags of skill and my technique is top drawer. The dream of making it professional went down the drain years ago when my cruciate knee ligaments went in front of all the scouts when i was only 15, so it's all about playing for fun and having a laugh with your mates these days. It's all about folks giving up their free time and doing it for their love of the beautiful game. Only the ref's get paid but in all honesty they probably deserve it will some of the abuse they get. Mind some don't including this guy who got done for benefit fraud, link here . One of the worst ref's ever!

One of the best referee's we have is deaf so you can shout anything you want at him though he can lip read so you still have to watch yourself. The biggest problem we have are the assistants, usually a sub or coaching staff from the opposition. They give offside when your about 10 yards onside and well there's been some incidents in past where they should of thought better about raising the flag lol.

So there you have it, I hope to pull the trigger on a few bullets into the top corner tonight on way to victory but we will probably end up getting a pasting.

Anybody else play for their local side?

[Ricky]

Heart of Oak

Hereford Times Sunday League - Division 2 (South)

[sparkspakespoke]

Did in my younger days Battlebridge and Chipstead. Steve Sidwell played for Chipstead at the same time when we were both 13, could always tell he ws going to go on and be a good player. Also played against SWP for Battlebridge who was rubbish all game until nearly full time when he did pratically our whole team and scored one of the best goals I've seen at that level.

[daveoftherovers]

The Royal Navy's side (Youth, U21 and Full)

The Naval Air Command

Had a trial @ Norwich City and was told "Good effort, but we've shed loads of Centre Halves" Want to know who was one of them that day? Mr Chris Sutton.

Then 10 years @ the Mighty Ossy St. Mary's !!! LOL (Blooming great bunch of lads though and a great crack)

[Rover down South]

Anybody else play for their local side?

You summed up 'park football' very well there. I play in the west sussex league. Really enjoy it, won our division last season & will hopefully get promotion again this time around. Used to play striker but lost my pace, so I now ply my trade centre mid!! Don't get on the scoresheet very often nowadays but did knock in four goals in about 40 mins for our sunday side last season, then tried to do a 'Ronaldo step over' & injured my knee!!!!

Your right about the refs. They can be power crazy too nowadays, have had four red cards & I'm not 30 yet. My last one, last season, cost me £35 & I was banned for five weeks, only pushed a bloke away who was giving my team mate grief!

Bit late now with our season starting next week, but anyone whose team wants a weekend on the south coast next pre-season & fancies a friendly, we'd be up for it. Forgot to say, we're unbeaten since September 23rd 2007!!!!

Good luck to all rovers fans in your leagues this season. Let us know how you all get on.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Played alot in my younger years but boots virtually hung up now and down to a weekly 5 a side game through work.

Gave up Saturdays to just playing Sundays in order to follow Rovers more.

Once I left school played for Baxenden in the Accrington Combination, Accrington Amateurs in the Lancashire League - Calvert Scaffolding /Marriotts/Acccington Amateurs in the Blackburn Sunday Morning League -also had a bit of a stint trial with Hurst Green reserves not long (when Accrington Stanley where in the lower regions)

Also played the the Hyndburn Sports Centre 6 a side League

Name the position and I have played it in a competitive match moreso due to being able to play with both feet comfortably, including GK which I don't mind saying I am (was) quite decent which is not bad for an 'inch high to a grasshopper'

[incecticide]

Centre half - Feniscowles & Pleasington C&AC FC - The good old Blackburn combination!

[Al]

Queens Park United, Blackburn. Many moons ago.

[Guest Kamy100]

Chairman of the mighty Bank Top Rovers FC. We have team in Premier Division of Combination League and also have teams in various 7-A-Side leagues.

[The Prof.]

Yep - YMCA - up on a cowfield in Mellor where the Manager used to turn up and mark and mow the pitch two hours before the game and then play! (with a push mower- no electric or petrol) Tough boys them days. If the ball went over the road into th next cowfield you got cow crp on your head.

[bennyboyt11]

only a local team, Deal United...

also my school team and we won the county cup

trying to get into shape to play for my university team this year, miss playing football

[Nelsta]

Temple Lodge FC. For about 8 years, Then Wardley Rangers.Both in the Eccles Sunday League.

Also Played 5-A-Side 4 nights a week.

Won Goal Keeper of the year 3 consecutive seasons and also one of the few Keepers to keep a clean sheat,Won the Premier Division 5 times, All in 5-A-Side...won sod all in Sunday League.

But Alas, I've given up the footy now, Getting a baby sitter is a pain in the ass.

[laughatthedingles]

Played for Ossy Juniors as a kid, moved to Darwen's Youth Team for two years, where I arrived at the same time as a certain Mr Derbyshire (former Rovers Ladies manager Andy McNally was our manager), we then all went to Great Harwood to form their youth team where I played for two years before moving to Hurst Green in the East Lancashire League. Played for Langho in the same leage for 3 years before now returning to Hurst Green.

[dave birch]

In the 60's I played for Blackburn hospitals in Div 5 of the combination. Three pints before kickoff, a gallon in the "water jug". Didn't win much, but we had a good time.

Remember pushing Norm Powell's Triumph Herald out of a ditch and wrecking the head light.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Played for three seasons with India Mills in the Darwen League - good team and good days. We were all Rovers fans and when we weren't playing had some excellent away trips following the lads.

Played up at Blacksnape which in winter was pretty bleak. Can only think of the two pitches at Trawden which could possibly be higher above sea level than Blacksnape.

When Rovers were at home, we didn't shower, just got changed as quickly as we could, got down to Ewood covered in mud and ran into the Darwen End to watch the last 15 minutes or so. Happy days.

[The Gull]

Was at Rovers as a junior until about 15 whilst playing for Eccleston Juniors on a Sunday morning.

Played for Chorley Motors until about 19 in the NW Counties then lost my way to booze and girls!

Played for Leyland Red Rose on a Saturday and Euxton St. Mary's on a Sunday before going on to win the league with Euxton Cosmos in the Chorley Nissan Sunday League. Played for a few other teams around Chorley on Saturdays and Sundays.

Played in the Cheshire League and various Liverpool leagues since moving to Liverpool nearly 8 years but children and lack of fitness have watered down my interest and entusiasm for Sunday morning slogs in the rain and mud, so just limit it to 5 a side these days.

Keep thinking I should get myself proper fit again and have another go before it is too late as I'll be 30 next year!

[SAS]

Playing for witton inn in the blackburn saturday league, however this is my first season playing

[Rover down South]

Good start to our season, winning 4-2 in a local derby match. Still unbeaten in the league for 18 games now, 3 weeks away from making it 12 months exactly.

[otto man]

Played in "The Nets" for both my junior school and secondary school also played there for cubs and scouts and was invited for a trial with Blackburn school boys( I was conviced I was gonna be the next Gordon Banks!) Unfortunately I broke my arm 3 days before and spent the next 14 weeks in plaster and that, as they say, was that.

[Mr Maureen]

Mill Hill St Peters (Do they still exist?) Then Darwen until the inevitable knee collapse.

[thenodrog]

Yep - YMCA - up on a cowfield in Mellor where the Manager used to turn up and mark and mow the pitch two hours before the game and then play! (with a push mower- no electric or petrol) Tough boys them days. If the ball went over the road into th next cowfield you got cow crp on your head.

I hated playing up there! In fact if all the pitches had been like the YM's I'd have given up sooner. With a constant gale up there the ball always spent more time out of play than in.

[thenodrog]

Playing for witton inn in the blackburn saturday league, however this is my first season playing

They had some team 25 years ago! I think they even won the Lancs Sunday Trophy once. Good times those Sunday Trophy days. Best bit was playing away and drawing against Blackpool, Preston or Bury clubs on fantastic flat pitches covered in grass and then bringing em back to Pleasington Fields (..... pre sand pitch days) which were nothing but slutch covered in glass.......... Oh and dog sh1t.

Mill Hill St Peters (Do they still exist?) Then Darwen until the inevitable knee collapse.

Cruciate wrecked for me too MrM. A legacy of way too small pitch sizes and the proliferation of two footed studs first tackling from behind being punished by a telling off and a yellow card for the second one.

[rog of the rovers]

aha

Found it!

May as well ignore my other thread.

REPOST

This season I have decided to join the world of amateur football on Saturday afternoons, and left me with a dilema, as I will probably miss a few Rovers games in the process, however I thought with the 24/7 coverage and the fact Rovers games will be moved left, right and centre I would still make several games and justify another year of my season ticket, which I have renewed.

I was wondering who else is in the same boat?

I'm hoping to join a friend who plays in the East Lancs Premier Division. A league many of you will probably know.

Hopefully people can let me/others know who they play for and how they deal with the Rovers withdrawl symptoms!

[Rover down South]

aha

Found it!

Ok, so it was more than a few months back! I still play for my local side in the west sussex football league, just won promotion again for the second year running. We had played 13 & won them all by the end of March, also we were in two semi finals. We finished runners up after a shocking end of season run in ending with stats of P20 W16 D1 L3. We lost both semi finals as well. Was gutted. Just started my pre season training to get in shape for the new season.

[rog of the rovers]

Thats a dismal end!

Although its amazing how the momentum shifts in amateur football. Had a pre season run out last Sunday and after goin 3-1 down within 10 mins in the second half, went on to win 7-4 and all against the slope!