Turn Back The Clock*

As we approach another month it’s timely to review the year to date November is traditionally a cold damp and miserable prelude to the Festive period There’s a perceptible change in the weather and in amount of sunlight we’ve available

But SHWFC folk are a little longer in the tooth and seasoned to these changes The generous application of Dr Sloans Linament and copious layers meant Bring it on ..We’re ready 36 players plus 3 Referees and a contingent of spectators were suitably attired for the late October weather conditions

The teams lined up, after Les had stretched their wallets and purses, Andy Man had stretched their calves, hamstrings and patience, in the following teams

Purple - Aldo, Eileen, Steve Honeyman, Ashy, Allen and Mark NR

Old Gold - Donal, Snakehips, Les Meldrew, Little John, Mike Bates & Chopper

Red - Phil the Cat, Simon, John Hill, Mike Thomo, Barry Wizz and Sheila

Blue - McSpeed, Margaret, Billy, Lord Rainford, Eamon and Beach Boy

Green - Michelle Monday, Grav, Tony Hogan, Roger, Triallist and Chris Gilmore

Black - Steve Jones, El Presidente, Les H, Phil the Power, Roy and Andy Man

Referees were Jeff Betty, Cockney Rebel, Chopper for one half game and Steve Harding (the remaining half game)

The start to proceedings was unnecessarily delayed as 6 selected to play Purple turned out with 7 players The miscreant was ejected, stripped of their shirt and pressed to play for one of the other teams Pay attention you there at the back Yes you boy (or girl)

Black faced Green in the opener on Pitch 1 with Chopper growing into the game as Referee During the growth spurt Chris Gilmore netted the Green opener, with El Presidente temporarily grounded after an early tumble That should have automatically been the keeper’s ball with our man on the deck, advised a posse of Black players “Play on I’m still finding my way back into this refereeing malarkey” came the reply Controversial moment then to start the game Green 1 up

Black recovered their poise and took a firm grip on the game Andy Man, Les H and El Presidente dealt with any Green attacks and Roy found an equaliser after some great work by Steve Jones and Phil the Power Green forced to defend deeper as the game progressed eventually cracked to a late winner scored by Steve Jones 2-1 Black triumphant

In their 2nd outing Black proved too canny to defeat Old Gold Phil the Power and Steve Jones each hit braces to stretch their possessional domination Donal and Mike Bates were on the mark with close in strikes in reply Black ended the morning with two wins 4-2 the score from their Old Gold tarnishing Full marks to Cockney Rebel who refereed with calm authority

Purple claimed victory in their opening match with Old Gold a solitary strike by Steve Honeyman enough to secure victory The wind played havoc at times with the ball running too freely Players soon adjusted their weight of passing as the game progressed Mr Rebel complimented the teams “Very good game, good passing and movement Old Gold had lots of shots but couldn’t finish”

Blue accounted for Red in their opening match Goals by McSpeed and Eamon ensured Blue started with a win taking full advantage of the vacancy left by errant Red defending 2-0

Jeff Betty in situ as resident Ref for the Far End His second match pitched the Red against Purple in a fun game played in great spirit Phil the Cat received plaudits for a string of excellent saves

A hat trick by McSpeed plus a Sheila stunner steered Red to a 4-2 win over Purple claimed victory

The morning’s final game featured Blue and Green in a game that was even for a long period Eamon fired Blue ahead only for Michelle Monday to claim a deserved equaliser 1-1 Then some further controversy followed with goals scored with opponents recovering their feet (and under carriage) Three late McSpeed goals ensured Blue were able to win 4-1 the eventual level of victory Question marks about playing on despite potential injured players lying prone, shows it’s vital all referees are trained to stop play when players are down

The injuries weren’t serious and didn’t materially change the course of the games but as a principal the Referee must act swiftly to protect players

Friday last was the Club’s Annual Quiz night which whilst generating valuable income was a tad disappointing in terms of attendance numbers The event is always enjoyable and the product of course of a huge amount preparity work by our Social Secretary Mr Cockney Rebel Martin Briggs and his better half Karen The quiz was conducted in a light hearted manner with questions deliberately selected for fun rather than their intrinsic trickiness Our thanks to Karen & Martin

Scrutiny of the numbers attending shows that Executive Committee members solidly supported the event But with 115 Members its mystifying how so many people simply chose not support their Club

These events are ultimately for your benefit The Club invests in venues, equipment, balls and kit to make our sessions as seemless as possible Members can simply turn up pay and play It seems more and more are electing to be passive rather than immersive

We will be holding our Annual Race Night in February but at a new venue (full details in due course)

Is it too much to politely ask that more members support the occasion?

Wednesday night’s Sutton SoccerDome session went ahead against a backdrop of chilly conditions with rain a threat as the night continued In the end the rain held off until the last known survivors had taken their shower, a walk to cars conducted with big rain drops announcing the arrival of squally showers that wool see out the night

Numbers were ridiculously lower after record attendance just 4 weeks ago The indoor Sports Hall session, scene of our first foray at Sutton, was abandoned without a ball being kicked Quite why so many decided to stay away we will endeavour to learn The outcome was 22 playing in two games (a five v five and six v six) Conditions chilly a tad blowy but dry and conducive to flowing football

The sides selected were;

Red (6) - Lord Rainford, Steve Smith, Deggs, Little John, Ian Hilton and the ghost of Grav

Yellow (6) - Chris 10P, Jeff Betty, Benno, Joe the real Ghost, Jason and Heather

Blue (5) - Phil the Power, Mark Dav, Midweek Michelle, Sully and Mike Thomo

White (5) - Andy Man, Neil Stretch, Steve Carine, Debutant Ian Harding and Eamon

El Presidente was on whistling duties for the full session match with Blue and White A very entertaining affair with play flowing from end to end and the outcome in the balance until the very end. Blue started well with a good deal of inventive passing and movement A goal by Michelle after a smart set up by Dav handed the advantage to Blue The lead doubled with the 8mpressive Sully on hand to guide home after some more great teamwork White hit back with an unfortunate own goal and were made to hold on when Michelle was Blue carded for a cynical handball During her absence White pounded the Blue goal but could not find an equaliser 2-1 at half time

Mark Dav fired spectacularly home to put Blue in the driving seat at 3-1 up But White finished the game strongly with debut boy Ian Harding firing home before Steve Carine found the net to draw the sides level Blue sparked back on the offensive to attempt to seal the victory their early dominance deserved White forced chances too But the time passed and the Presidential Acme Thunderer sounded to end a most enjoyable game and contest in an honourable 3-3 draw

The Red and Yellow game was equally dramatic and further testament to Andy Man team selection strategies Two individuals do,inated the scoring but both would acknowledge the mighty team effort that made for an exciting game Steve Smith plundered 4 goals for Red but Chris 10P matched that feat with 4 goals too

With Ref Jeff Betty pressed into action we don’t have our usual fun fact filled report of the ot.her scorers We do know that Red at one stage were 4-1 up We know that Deggs put in a decent shift during his goalkeeping spell but that’s about it in the Fact Department 6-6 the final result on a night when team balance could not have been better aligned

As the week has unfolded we have learnt that our international representatives have excelled at the Walking Football World Nations Cup Tournament in Spain Our Ladies; Jill ‘Tomo’ Thomas, Tracey O’Hara and Rachel Mutch have all played with distinction to ensure England has triumphed in their Ladies age group matches We are delighted to offer a few photos to celebrate their achievements

Congratulations too go to long time member now exiled to Spain, Steve ‘Clint’ Eastwood who was one of the tournament referees

It is a fantastic honour to represent your Family, Friends, Club and Country and all members should reflect on the privilege of sharing a pitch with these amazing players

Turn Back The Clock* - Johnny Hates Jazz (late 80s hitmakers with a style over substance approach to their craft)