EDITORIAL by Jane Stuart Welcome home, fellow Seasiders! Isn’t it marvellous to be back? It’s been ten years since I last produced a fanzine. And what a rollercoaster we have been on since then! Reaching the Premier League was both the best and worst thing to happen to this club. It was so surreal at the time to see the Seasiders plastered all over the media, all the matches on tv in the pubs, colleagues in Birmingham telling me the latest news on Charlie Adam et al from what they’d seen in the press...it honestly didn’t sink in that we were in the Prem until the October (the wins at Wigan and Anfield were simply unbelievable).
But where do you go after that? Having started following the Seasiders in Division Four, I’d pretty much completed the 92 football league grounds. And it couldn’t get any better than that season in the Prem, could it? Little could we have guessed the depths of despair that were to come. Relegation at Old Trafford paled into insignificance against the horrors that Blackpool fans were to endure over the coming years. The Premier League fortune was whipped away from the club - and the fans and community were treated with appalling disdain. We lost everything we had - and much more besides.
Whilst the club and us fans will be scarred for life by what has happened, the experience has undoubtedly brought the fans and the community closer together. Now we have entered a new era under our saviour Simon Sadler’s ownership, the mood is simply joyful. It is wonderful to be back where we belong, amongst our peers, our friends, our family. We appreciate what we now have - our beloved club and each other - like never before. At the pre-season matches everyone has been beaming and enthusing and so excited to be back.
We know from experience how far belief can take us. It got us to the Premier League - and it got us Simon Sadler. Now let’s set our hopes and hearts on new goals for the new era. Who knows how far we can go this time…
Are you a Blackpool supporter living in London or the South-East? Do you feel like an exile? Well don’t be lonely anymore – join B.A.S.I.L. today! B.A.S.I.L. has several hundred members – all Blackpool supporters just like you. • Talk Together • Drink Together
• Travel Together • Support Together
Contact us at basilseasiders@hotmail.co.uk today. You could be like John – “I couldn’t believe it, there was a B.A.S.I.L. member living only one mile away from me. After years of supporting Blackpool alone, I now feel a part of the great Seasiders experience”.
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BLACKPOOL ASSOCIATION of SUPPORTERS IN LONDON
SEASIDERS, SEASIDERS - WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Since returning to Bloomfield Road at the end of the boycott on 9th March 2019, I have been fascinated to hear the stories of what fellow Seasiders have been up to these last few years. You can find my story on pages 8-10 but I’ll kick you off below with some of the stories I have collected from Seasiders across the country. I’d love to hear more of these stories - and keep this series going all season - as it has been a unique period for Blackpool fans. Please email your story to me at jane@janestuart.co.uk for consideration for inclusion in a future issue.
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PHIL CORBETT (LEEDS): As we approach a new season, for the first time in a long time I’m really looking forward to knowing I’ll have the full matchday experience. Throughout the well-documented turmoil of the last few years I’ve continued to travel to away games, but every other week there has been a void that watching Sky Sports simply didn’t fill. After decades of going home and away, to have 50% of the fixtures not being part of my weekend was something I never got used to.
Over the years, there has been a pattern to my weekends, especially home games. I’d set off from Leeds around 9.30 to Blackpool, arriving around 10.45, then spend time with family, catching up and having a bit of lunch before going down to the ground for around 1.30 to have a pint in the Number One with my fellow Yorkshire Seasiders. After a natter and pint, over to the ground, loitering outside to catch up with various friends then go into the ground, where I’d be surrounded by the same faces in the same places every week. The onset of the boycott saw all that go. I literally didn’t see or speak to some of those people from the day of the Huddersfield game in 2015 through to the Homecoming against Southend. Family members were only spoken to by phone.
The last six games of last season were all a bit of a novelty, and it didn’t really feel like ‘normality’. Don’t get me wrong, it was great to be back in the ground and many of the people round me were still the same, but the pre match routine wasn’t established.
Going back on 3rd August will be the start of a restoration process of much more than going to football. Yorkshire Seasiders will be looking at all the new opportunities in the bars that have opened since we were last in town. I’ll be back in the habit of calling in on people I haven’t seen in ages, the literally hundreds of people I nod to in the ground with a smile and a muttered ‘afternoon’ (I have no idea what most of them are called) will be nodding back to me, and equilibrium in the universe will be back. With the dawn of a new era under a new owner, manager and team, it’s time to start again and look forward. The Oystons have gone and I hope that they’re quickly forgotten. How good will it be to start a new season knowing that everyone is pulling in the same direction, on and off the field? It’s the start of something special down at Bloomfield Road. I hope the town responds to the change and really gets behind it. We’ve seen it before, how the support can make a real difference and inspire the team to something they didn’t know they were capable of. I can’t wait to see it.
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SEASIDERS, SEASIDERS - WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? HERTS & BRUGES SEASIDER (MAIDSTONE) Living in Kent, we would normally only do half a dozen home games a season and as many aways as manageable. With the boycott, many more Saturdays became free.
Bruges loves working in her garden and I enjoy a round of golf but we also enjoy doing things together. Football wise, we adopted our local team Maidstone United. It was great, refreshing and local - a leisurely 45 minute walk through the park into town. As The Stones were, at the time, in the National League South, you were allowed to take a beer onto the terraces - what bliss. Maidstone play on an artificial surface which, if truthful, I could never get the hang of - and neither could some of the visiting players! We also found the most amazing Pub Of Choice, the rather quaintly named ‘The Flower Pot’, which had some wonderful local ales as well as Belgian beers - highly recommended if in the area (though hopefully not for a Pool game unless The Stones march up the leagues!).
Our second new hobby was walking. Partly inspired by the AVFTT Walking Club and the wonderful Kent countryside, we discovered The Pligrim’s Way, a historic walk and part of The North Downs Way from Guildford in Surrey to Canterbury in Kent. The walk itself covers a total of 153 miles and we decided to cover its entirety within Kent, but doing it in small 8-10 mile sections. The walk in Kent follows the route supposedly taken by the Pilgrims on their walk to Canterbury Cathedral. It’s been amazing and we’ve seen so much wonderful scenery, found some beautiful villages and pubs, got a bit fitter and learnt a few things. Did you know, for instance, that Kent had a coal mining history? At one stage there were four working collieries and the last one was closed as recently as 1989.
Whilst all this has been wonderful, there has been a part of our life on hold. We all know what has happened and how exciting things now are. It is difficult to express the emotion felt on our first match ‘back’, seeing people we’d not seen properly for a long time, walking down and into the ground - it was rather special. Though this whole period in our clubs history has been err, stained, I think for us - and for quite a few others - we have found other things to embrace and enjoy and we look forward to reading those stories.
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MIKE VAN PARYS (BLACKPOOL) The big thing for me about the last five years was a gradual erosion of my love for football. This new found state of apathy had become the norm for me, resulting in no interest whatsoever in BFC, not even checking results or league positions. Instead of spending money on football I have been going to music festivals and gigs. I'm 57 and our two children are grown up now, so my wife and I have discovered the joys of Boomtown Festival, Beat Herder Festival and Stone Valley Festival - and week commencing 12th August we are heading to The Green Man Festival...basically re-living our youth, which is no bad thing. I'm delighted to report that the day the CAR took over the club my football flame was immediately re-ignited, so much so I went down to the ground simply to walk round it (something I used to do as a nipper in the 70s).
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SEASIDERS, SEASIDERS - WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Now that Simon Sadler is the owner I feel we are in good hands, something I've not been able to say for most of my life. We will continue to boogie on down at our festivals - but I can categorically state that my love for and interest in BFC is well and truly back. UTMP.
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LIZ COCKS (LONDON) 2nd January 2016: Burton Albion away. I look at that and think wow that’s a hell of a long time to be without something you could go without sleep for and on occasions did. I can’t remember the score; all I remember was that I was so unhappy that I left at half time.
I had long before stopped attending home matches. I found the environment toxic and didn’t want to spend my days off travelling (a 15-hour return trip) to the seaside to feel unhappy. Gone were the glorious Premier League days, the excitement I felt when going into the Championship for the first time in my lifetime....I felt cheated of my passion.
So what have I been doing since kissing my beloved tangerines au revoir (it was never goodbye just see you another time)? Well I felt lost. I lost my passion for football, my desire to get to the end of the route I was driving on a matchday (train driver here) and check the score and any points of contention. People at work knew I was tangerine but they soon stopped asking me what was happening when I said I didn’t really know where to begin.
Since Burton Albion away my family has gone from two to four - doubling in size with the arrival of two ‘tiny tangerines’ (had the previous ownership still been in residence I fear we may have lost them to Arsenal). My mum has wanted to buy my tiny tangerines their first tangerine kit but I’ve followed the boycott and not allowed it (Junior 1 turns three in September) so now I’m looking forward to her sporting her tangerine along with Junior 2.
So will I be renewing my season ticket? Unfortunately not, reader, as I doubt there will be many home games in the near future, restricted by my tiny tangerines and a partner working shifts. This close season I excitedly checked the fixtures for the first season since it started to go toxic. I checked where I could go where I could take my ‘tiny tangerines’ then considered taking two small girls to an away game alone as madness but, hey, I found BASIL three days after having an operation for ‘that’ game at Swansea that seems like a different lifetime.
Reader, I’ve been sitting writing this while being climbed on by an eight-month-old and allowing my toddler to stand on the chair watching TV.
I really hope that when I get to a game that my desire is there as I feel that I’ve lost a really important part of myself and hope that once I reach the road to the ground that I find it like a lost penny in the street.
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THE DAY THE WRITING DIED by Jane Stuart Dear reader, you ought to know me well enough by now to realise that I can’t just get up, go to watch a game of football and go home. Football is so much more to me. I live and breathe the game. It will never be just 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon for me.
Blackpool FC – Billy Ayre’s Tangerine Army – swept me away in a whirlwind of emotion in 1990. I absorbed everything I could about the club. In those pre-internet days, we had to make do with the Evening Gazette and Teletext, both of which I read religiously. And I wrote as well. My beloved club was my muse. For years and years I wrote and I wrote because Blackpool inspired me so much and I was head over heels in love with the club. I sent in articles to the fanzine, I wrote columns in the Gazette and match programme, I wrote for FourFourTwo, Racing Post and Teletext. Eventually I took over the editorship of the fanzine for 39 issues, as well as having a double-page spread in the programme, still a column in the Gazette and articles on the fans website AVFTT. There was never any shortage of things to write about. It was all so much fun. Even when the football itself was terrible, my friends – my football family – made it fun.
So what happened?
I was writing a regular column on Blackpool FC for Shoot Online back in 2014. They weren’t even asking for much – just 500 words fortnightly. But the words dried up. I didn’t even want to be at Blackpool matches, let alone have to write about them. I was so unhappy but I was frightened about writing anything remotely contentious for fear of being sued by the owners of my club. It was horrible. I couldn’t be myself in my writing. I couldn’t be positive. There wasn’t anything to smile about. For years I had been writing about how wonderful it was to follow Blackpool and doing everything I could to encourage others to come along and watch the club too. But how could I do that now, when I wasn’t even enjoying it myself? I came to realise that I was only going to matches because of my commitment to write the column for Shoot. And I wasn’t even enjoying the writing. So that was when I stopped. I stopped going to football and I stopped writing. The two things that I loved most in life had both been cruelly snatched away from me.
In the years that followed I became completely lost. What was my life without football and writing? Oh believe me I tried to find things to make it all better. You know I enjoy a nice beer, so I started travelling to beer festivals on Saturday afternoons. After all, a big part of my Saturdays at the football was always beer with friends. But it wasn’t enough. There was something missing. I went to gigs. I travelled around the North of England watching the Lancashire Hotpots playing on Saturdays. I felt a buzz of excitement on the morning when I was going to see them; I got to travel; and I got to have a few beers. And I had a great time singing and dancing at their gigs. But still there was something missing. What was it?
I became very unwell and was even unable to work for a few months. I found myself crying all the time and suffering from crippling migraines. I was drinking too much but kidding myself that it wasn’t doing me any harm because I was using it as a crutch to get me through the long dark evenings. I couldn’t see a way out. My doctor referred me for counselling and, after a long wait for an appointment, I eventually found myself crying my heart out to a stranger who I really hoped was going to help me find a way out of this horrible situation.
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THE DAY THE WRITING DIED by Jane Stuart Dear reader, it worked. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps to change the way you think – focussing more on the positive aspects of life. When I was asked what I enjoyed – what my passions were – of course I answered football and writing. I mentioned that I had seen a job advertised at my local non-league club, Chasetown. It was an admin job – as Match Secretary – and I knew I’d be able to do it with my eyes closed. And it would mean working in football and getting back to my normality of going to matches every Saturday. Just talking about it – and finding myself auto-enthusing – I knew I had to apply.
Chasetown ripped my arm off, of course. I loved it from the start, although I did find parts of the job challenging at first. But I like a challenge! The admin was a breeze, but part of my role was to meet and greet visiting club and match officials in hospitality. That was way out of my comfort zone! What on earth did I talk to these strangers about? I was never any good at small talk. But I knew I needed to master this. I actively studied assertiveness and body language and learned how to start conversations. I look back now and think what was my problem? It’s obvious – just talk about football! How hard is that? Within months I found myself walking into away boardrooms like I owned the place and was often mistaken for the home secretary by visiting match officials because I was the one giving them the warm welcome. This job was so good for me. Over two-and-a-half years in the job I upskilled in so many areas – not least people skills, but also organising the end of season presentation night, arranging matches (including an FA Cup replay with a two-day turnaround), working to tight deadlines to sign players, keeping my temper, diffusing situations and networking. It really was a great job that I’ll miss tremendously.
As regards the writing, my therapist (get me, sounding all American!) suggested I might join a writing group to get me back into the habit of writing. Now you know I’m never one to do anything by halves, so this seed of an idea grew rapidly into me taking a decision to sign up for a Creative Writing degree with the Open University (something I had wanted to do for years). The first two modules were broad humanities based (I had to wait for the Creative Writing part) but it was so interesting! Again I really upskilled here – and surprised myself with an aptitude for art history. Last October I finally got around to the Creative Writing – and of course loved every minute of it. I was now honing my craft every day.
I combined my two passions by creating content for the Chasetown match programme and starting up a blog (www.janestuart.co.uk), in which I write about my adventures on my travels following the football. So I had football back, I had my muse back, I had my health back. All was right with the world.
But of course it wasn’t. There was one crucial ingredient missing. Oh I’d tried to bury it. After every match without fail someone would ask me: ‘How have Blackpool got on today?’ – and most of the time I wouldn’t even have a clue who Blackpool were playing. It hurt to be asked. I was trying to forget. Everyone across football who knew I was a Seasider was so sorry about what was happening to the club, but I really really just didn’t want to talk about it or even think about it. It was just too upsetting. To protect my heart (and my mental health) I buried my love for the club so deep down that I never thought it would resurface.
And then everything changed.
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THE DAY THE WRITING DIED by Jane Stuart In the days leading up to the Southend game I felt something I never thought I’d feel again. I was so incredibly excited about returning to Bloomfield Road – and I felt compelled to write, write, write. On the eve of the match I wrote a song about the occasion.
On the day of the match I wrote a blog, recording every wonderful moment of that very special day. You can find the above - as well as stories of many other adventures I have had on my travels - on my blog at www.janestuart.co.uk.
And I haven’t been able to stop writing since. I write every day now – and am more prolific than ever. I can’t get the words out of my fingers quickly enough – hence I decided to launch this brand new Blackpool fanzine.
An appeal for articles on the YouTube channel of Blackpool vlogger Lee Charles TV brought in so many stories from so many people who haven’t had this freedom – or inclination – to write about this special football club over the past few years. We can never get those years back. But we can celebrate our proud history – and help create a bright future by encouraging more people to join us on what simply has to be the best trip.
Be proud, be creative, be joyous. We’ve got our club back. We’ve even got Larry back! And we’ve got Simon Sadler. Now that’s what I call progress!
Life is good. Let’s keep smiling and appreciate everything we’ve got. Come On You Mighty Tangerine Wizaaaaaaaaards!!! #UTMP
Videographer for Weddings Events & Promotional Videos If you follow The Seasiders then watch my BFC videos on…
youtube Match videos, interviews with former players and behind the scenes exclusives
“LEE CHARLES TV” 10
FORMER PLAYERS ASSOCIATION On 14th June, the Blackpool FC Former Players Association hosted An Evening with Dave Serella at St Annes Cricket Club. Dave Serella and his wife Pat had a great night surrounded by 160 friends, family and former colleagues.
The proceeds from the sales of tickets and the raffle was split between the Alzheimers Society and the Blackpool FC Former Players Association. A cheque for £588 was presented to Janet Holmes of the Blackpool branch of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Top Row L-R, Will White, G e o r g e Grimshaw, Terry P a s h l e y, P a u l Stewart, Mike Davies, David McNiven (Snr), Colin Greenall, Scott McNiven Seated L-R, John Robertson, Ian Bowyer, Derek Spence, Dave Serella, Eric Jones, Dennis W a n n , Te r r y Alcock, David McNiven (Jnr) If you have a look at the Blackpool FC Former Players Association Facebook page, there’s a story on the Evening with Dave Serella as well as links to some footage that you might like to watch. The first link shows the film that was shown on the night, including many photos of Dave Serella and also match action film of him playing for Forest vs Newcastle in an infamous FA Cup tie and then film footage of him playing for Walsall vs Brentford at the old Fellows Park ground. There is some previously unseen privately taken footage from a game at Bloomfield Road.
You can see video footage from the Evening with Dave Serella on Lee Charles TV on YouTube, where you can also see interviews with former players Tony Green, Eamonn O’Keeffe and Derek Spence.
You can follow BFC Former Players on Twitter @BFC_ExPlayers.
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WALKING FOOTBALL by Peter Gillatt Walking Football is now a well-established version of the game that we all love. Originally aimed at the over 50s, it is now enjoyed by both men and women aged 35+ and its growth and appeal in Blackpool and Fylde has been remarkable.
It is worth recalling how and exactly why Walking Football began in Blackpool and why its association with one of the club's legends shouldn't be overlooked.
Terri Sawkill the Chief Officer at Age UK Blackpool, already had an established relationship with Blackpool FC Community Trust. With the President of Age UK Blackpool at the time being Jimmy Armfield, the seed to start Walking Football in Blackpool was planted back in 2012.
In developing the initial sessions, Terri said: "The biggest reason older men don't engage in physical activity is a lack of confidence. This is about getting them out and meeting others in the same boat."
The first steps in the journey with this special project began with the Blackpool FC Community Trust Inclusion Department, who set out in delivering a Walking Football programme for over 50s at Blackpool Sports Centre in partnership with Age UK, Blackpool Council and the Older Men's Network.
With the support of Age UK Blackpool President Jimmy Armfield, the first session was launched in December 2013. "I only came to watch but, once I was here, I couldn't resist joining in," said 78-year-old Armfield. "Once a footballer always a footballer".
Dave Maclean, Inclusion officer at Blackpool Community Trust, said: "The development of the group has been excellent and numbers are rapidly growing. It’s great to see the same faces week in, week out, which is building new social circles for the participants with the added benefit of improving their health at the same time".
I joined when a new early evening session began in February 2014. At that time, I was 53, unfit and over 18 stone. Walking Football helped kick-start me to become far more active and the subsequent weight loss took the strain off my joints, which ironically then helped me to enjoy Walking Football far more. I’m now 13 stone and play twice a week and one is an indoor session, which can be quite physically demanding.
Armfield’s quote is so correct, whatever level of football you may have played: “Once a footballer always a footballer” - you do not have to stop playing.
On 3rd June 2015 I was invited by Age UK Blackpool & District to attend with Terri a seminar day by the Economic & Social Research Council on men, ageing and physical activity at the Rose Bowl at Leeds Beckett University. The seminar day brought together key academics and stakeholders in order to raise awareness of gendered
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WALKING FOOTBALL by Peter Gillatt physical activity projects and to discuss the scope for designing health promotion campaigns which are gender sensitive.
Together with over 30 academics, a number of presentations around older men’s health, physical activity and wellbeing were given. The day was to bring together diverse stakeholders with an interest in older men’s health and to highlight key themes relating to physical activity and health promotion. David Terrace from Age UK gave an overview from a national perspective, with Terri giving the story from a local perspective. As a stakeholder myself, being a participating player in the Walking Football initiative, I was asked to talk about my involvement in the partnership and the personal benefits of being involved.
The speakers discussed Age UK’s Walking Football initiative, focusing on what the ‘body’ can do, rather than what it cannot, recognising that Walking Football provides players with a way to revive their physical lives, challenge themselves, socialise with others and connect with other health initiatives and services that Age UK may be promoting. It was noted that the programme has also formed sustainable communities, with participants themselves becoming ambassadors for the group and recruiting new players.
In 2015 Blackpool FC Community Trust held its first in-house tournament between both the Lytham and Blackpool centres, with the winners going forward to represent the Trust at the EFL (then FLT) Regional Walking Football Tournament. The BFCCT Walking Football Team went on to win the EFL Regional Walking Football Tournament.
On 7th June 2016, the BFCCT Walking Football Team attended the national finals at St George’s Park (Home of English Football) and faced regional champions from around the country. The team cruised through their group and faced tough competition before reaching the final, where they won 4-3 on penalties v Nottingham Forest. The team were crowned National EFL Walking Football Champions, which was a sensational achievement.
Owen Coyle (BFCCT Inclusion Officer) said at the time: “Since the beginning of the project in 2014, the Walking Football sessions have gone from strength to strength ,with over 200 participants engaging over this period of time. The emphasis is on inclusion and helping individuals to improve their fitness and mental wellbeing whilst playing the game that we all love. It was a fantastic achievement on the competitive front to win the national finals in June 2016; all of the team were a credit to Blackpool FC Community Trust.”
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WALKING FOOTBALL by Peter Gillatt Despite its unfortunate demise, it should be remembered that Blackpool Age UK had successfully addressed the tension between love for football and age-related decline in mobility. The focus was always on what men can do rather than what they find difficult, an assets-based approach which has proved very popular. They also found that, when teaming up with local professional clubs, communities readily take to Walking Football, with men getting involved in organising games, leagues and associated social events.
Blackpool FC Community Trust Inclusion Department took overall responsibility for continuing to deliver the highly successful Walking Football programme for over 50s. As part of this change, the Walking Football Project sessions moved from Blackpool Sports Centre to the Vida (Play Football Pitches) on Garstang Road, where we have available for use two or three outdoor 3G pitches and an indoor pitch.
Now Walking Football is an activity which anyone can join from the age of 35 onwards. If you want to come along you are encouraged to have a look how the sessions are run and join everyone for refreshments afterwards.
If you are interested in participating, you just need appropriate kit and suitable trainers and, whilst it is hugely enjoyable, it is surprisingly physically demanding and may not be suitable if you have or are recovering from injury. If you can recall how fast five-aside football used to be played, then this version of the game is just as quick except you are unable to run whether you are on or off the ball.
The Club formed by the original Walking Football project in Blackpool is known as the AFC Blackpool Senior Seasiders, who are actively involved in playing fixtures at various levels and are the representative club for the over 50 and over 60 age groups throughout Lancashire and the North West. Membership of the Senior Seasiders Walking Football Club is £10 per annum and allows club members to represent the Senior Seasiders in various FA and other Walking Football competitions.
The BFC Trust run Walking Football sessions at Play Football on Monday and Thursday evenings:
50+ 4.30pm until 5.30pm
35+ 6pm until 7pm
For further information please contact the Trust on 01253 348691 or email office@bfcct.co.uk.
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AWAY DAYS WITH BSA by Ian Carden 9th July and it is the start of the 2019/20 season only 66 days after the end of last season - and what do we start with but a brilliant pre-season friendly away to Dundee.
Five intrepid BSA members met in the Poulton Elk for pre-train breakfast and beer. We had a bit of time to spare in Preston so had a quick beer in the station bar, where we coincidentally met George, proprietor of the excellent Number 10 Ale Houses.
Then onto Edinburgh, where we discovered that our connection to Dundee had been cancelled...but never mind - chance for a quick visit to the Booking Office, that is the Wetherspoons and not the office to buy tickets. Back in Waverley Station we discovered that the next Dundee train had been cancelled. This got us a bit panicky – what was going on?! Investigations revealed that a points failure at Inverkeithing meant no trains could cross the Forth railway bridge for at least two hours. The advice we were given was to get a train to Glasgow and then get the Dundee train from there, thus avoiding the bridge. That worked a treat and we arrived in Dundee at 1745 - two hours behind schedule.
We checked in the Travelodge and then taxied to Frew’s Bar, the agreed meeting place for Seasiders. In there we met up with a lot of familiar faces as well as some new faces. There seemed to be quite a number of Scottish Blackpool fans there who live north of the border but have an affiliation to the Tangerines.
After some thirst quenching we proceeded to Dens Park (or the Kilmac Stadium as it is now untraditionally called) for the match.
After the game we were directed to a local pub called the Clep just behind Tannadice by a Dundonian who had a season ticket at Dundee but was decked out in tangerine as his English team was Blackpool. This led to much ridiculing from his friends as of course tangerine is also the colour of rivals Dundee United. The Clep turned out to be a real locals pub and the locals were all very friendly. Eventually we taxied back to the city centre and sampled the Counting House (yet another Wetherspoons) before retiring for the night.
The following day we had another Wetherspoons breakfast before an uneventful journey back to Poulton. After a drink or two in the Thatched House we said our farewells and made our way home and that was match number one over and done.
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AWAY DAYS WITH BSA by Ian Carden So onto match number two at Shildon on July 13th. Hang on a minute - the club have cancelled it as Simon Grayson wants extra training for his squad. Having already bought train tickets, seven BSA members decided to still get the train up to the north east and have a day out in Durham instead.
So we ventured out on a relatively early train to York. It turned out to be York Races that day, so from Bradford onwards the train filled with racegoers. It was a good atmosphere on the train. Many of the ladies were very well dressed and sported fascinators whilst drinking their Pimms. At York station we were all herded out of the station for ticket checking. Eventually we made our way back in and had a quick one in the York Tap.
We then got a train to Durham. It had been pointed out before travelling that it was in fact the Durham Miners Gala that day so Durham had a great atmosphere as well. This gala is just about the biggest trade union get together in the country nowadays.
After a bit of a pub crawl we decided to visit the Cathedral – a splendid looking building built on the hill within a loop of the river Wear. The annual miners service was taking place so we stayed and joined in a few hymns. Standing next to us in the cathedral was Alun Armstrong of New Tricks fame. He is from Durham and was ever such a nice man, posing for photographs with all and sundry, including us.
The end of the service coincided with the conclusion of the parades of bands and banners...at which point everyone flocked to the pubs, making it impossible to even get into a pub. A quick decision was made to make our way back to Darlington. This worked well and we spent an hour there in relative peace before getting the train back home. It had been another good day out - just a shame we didn’t get to see a match.
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TANGERINE TRAVEL Want to meet up with other Seasiders in your area to travel to matches with? A Facebook group - ‘Tangerine Travel’ - has been set up for just this purpose. We Seasiders really do get everywhere - and you may be surprised to find a fellow tangerine just around the corner from you.
This online facility - established in March 2019 - has already brought together dozens of Seasiders, facilitating shared transport arrangements and forging friendships. The group has 450 members and, with increased awareness, hopes to grow into the thousands with the dawn of the new season.
This is a great resource for exiles that will enable more of us to get to Blackpool matches going forward. We are stronger and louder in numbers. Join today and come together with Seasiders in your area. Who knows but maybe we can see some new regional supporters groups born out of this initiative?
You can find the group on Facebook by searching for ‘Tangerine Travel’ or typing in the following address: www.facebook.com/groups/TangerineTravel/
Blackpool Supporters Association run travel from Blackpool to away matches. Their pick-up points are Red Lion, Saddle Inn and Waterloo Hotel. They can be contacted on 07753 405628. Their website is www.blackpoolsupporters.com, where you can find details of all pick up points, times and terms and conditions (e.g. you must be a member of BSA to travel with them).
Leyland & Chorley Seasiders pick up from Castle Gardens in Carleton, St Mary’s Catholic Academy, The Belle Vue, Saddle Inn, Kirkham Roundabout, Bamber Bridge and The Woodsman at Leyland. Please see their website for further details www.leylandandchorleyseasiders.club.
Tangerines in Manchester interested in getting involved with a local supporters group can contact Anthony Summers on 07895 917273 or asummers1953@gmail.com.
MG Whittard travels to matches from Mansfield. If you’re interested in sharing travel contact @TheWhittards on Twitter or MG Whittard on Facebook.
Seasiders Across Scotland can be found on Facebook. Contact cliff.d.smith@sky.com for details of transport from Edinburgh to most home matches. A few away games will also be covered by train.
If you are running transport to matches or would like to find travel buddies in your area, do let us know and we can advertise details in this column. We are particularly interested in linking up exiles to encourage travel to Bloomfield Road and increase home attendances.
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YORKSHIRE SEASIDERS by Phil Corbett For those of you who haven’t heard of us, Yorkshire Seasiders are one of the largest exile supporters associations, having formed in our current incarnation in 2003. For the Wembley play off final in 2010 we had a block booking of 131 tickets and took a couple of full coaches down the M1. The Oyston effect means that our active membership has dipped in recent years but, with the new wave of optimism that the Simon Sadler era hopefully brings, we’re hoping to see a larger contingent at both home and away games. We have members from all areas of the county (and slightly beyond), with South Yorkshire and Leeds being particular hotspots.
We have our own Facebook group to share information, gossip and travel arrangements for away games. Search for ‘Yorkshire Seasiders’ and you’ll find us. Alternatively you can contact us by telephone on 07779 349387.
For many away games we have reduced cost minibus travel for members, picking up in L e e d s , W a k e fi e l d , Sheffield and the M1 corridor, usually around £15 a trip. If we’re not taking a bus, car s h a re s a re u s u a l l y available and advertised through the Facebook page. The first bus this season will probably be the Coventry away game, being played at St Andrews. For some trips, we investigate the options for trains, booking well in advance for maximum discount (that’s the one Yorkshire aspect we’ve adopted). Southend away then Accrington away in September are trips that fit the bill for train travel. Again, we’ll be putting up train times and costs (using split ticket websites) so we can co-ordinate travel arrangements.
Before home and away games we always look to meet up in a pub near to the ground. The Bloomfield Brewhouse is favourite for home games at present but, as a democratic group, we’re open to alternatives!
Get in touch, you won’t regret it.
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BLACKPOOL SUPPORTERS’ TRUST by Christine Seddon It is interesting to reflect that, when the AVFTT fanzine was last published ten years ago, Blackpool Supporters’ Trust wasn’t even a twinkle in Tim Fielding’s eye! A lot has happened since then and the inception of SISA in 2013, which then morphed into Blackpool Supporters’ Trust in 2014, was a fundamental event for our supporters. BST has faced a monumental challenge to develop a democratic and representative fan group during the most troubled period in the club’s history and from a position of exile from the club it represents.
For those who are not familiar with what a supporters’ trust actually is, this is taken from our website:
“We are a legally constituted, FCA-compliant Community Benefit Society, a one person one vote cooperative, open to ALL supporters and dedicated to making Blackpool Football Club the best it can be for the fans and the town of Blackpool”.
The fundamental strength of a legally constituted Trust is this open and democratic policy which underpins the constitution. It is a natural channel of communication between a football club and its fans because Trusts usually count representatives of every section of the fanbase amongst their members. Blackpool FC has very diverse and passionate supporters, some of whom are members of other fan groups (who represent geographical groups, travelling fans, protestors and activists) and many who are not part of any group other than their own family and friends. Blackpool Supporters’ Trust can act as the umbrella organisation for all Blackpool fans and is an organisation which has proved itself to be honest, reliable and credible. Even the EFL have recognised the importance and relevance of a Trust to its football club and have made structured dialogue between the club and its Trust (where one exists) to be mandatory.
Our constant aims are:
-To represent and campaign on issues decided by the members and by extension the supporters of Blackpool Football Club
-To hold whomever owns the football club to account
-To strengthen the bonds between the Club and the community which it serves and to represent the interests of the community in the running of the Club
-To benefit present and future members of the community served by the Club by promoting, encouraging and furthering the game of football as a recreational facility, sporting activity and focus for community involvement.
BST elections are taking place in September, when eight of the nine committee places are to be decided. The deadline for applications has now passed but we hope that Blackpool supporters from other fan groups have put themselves forward. After years of hurt and trouble, it is time for Blackpool fans to speak with one voice and help OUR club rise from the ashes.
We encourage ALL Blackpool fans to join BST, one of the leading Trusts in the country. The Trust is here for the fans of Blackpool FC and the club have agreed to regular structured dialogue meetings. By becoming a member, you can have direct input into the policies and direction of the Trust and the club.
You can find out more by visiting our website at www.blackpoolsupporterstrtust.com or by emailing secretary@blackpoolsupporterstrust.com.
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SUPPORTERS’ LIAISON OFFICER by Steve Rowland It is an EFL requirement that every football club has a designated Supporters’ Liaison Officer (SLO) to act as an intermediary between the club and fans. Preferably this is someone appointed from among the fanbase who is capable of representing the views of both sides on a whole raft of issues to do with the matchday experience, championing opportunities to improve that experience for all sections of the fanbase and acting to identify and mitigate problems before they have a negative impact on fans or the club.
In the past, the SLO position at Blackpool FC has only been paid lip service to and has never been actively engaged, but under new ownership all that changes and I am proud and privileged to have been appointed as the club’s first dedicated (albeit voluntary) SLO.
It’s a demanding role and one that I can’t possibly fulfil on my own, so I’ve co-opted the other three people who applied for the position into an SLO team.
I firmly believe that a dedicated SLO is going to be a vital role as we look to reunite the fanbase, reconnect the club with the community and start to realise the huge potential to transform Blackpool FC into an exciting place to be for all fans. The goal must surely be to create an atmosphere and a matchday experience that will put this football club back as the beating heart of the town and make it the envy of other clubs. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen, by incremental changes in a climate of continuous improvement – and every single fan can help us to progress.
The key to building and developing a positive relationship between supporters and the club is good open two-way communication. An important part of the SLO’s role is to help make that communication take place in a timely and effective way.
If you see things going on that you don’t like, let the SLO know. If you have ideas for how we can introduce new ideas or change things to make matchdays better, let the SLO know. I will be attending fans’ groups meetings as well as organising quarterly structured dialogue sessions between the board and fans’ groups and some additional Fans’ Forums - but you can contact me and the SLO team at any time with your ideas or concerns and know they will be given serious consideration and acted upon if it’s possible and appropriate to do so. The days of the old bunker mentality are gone. This is now a listening club again. Let’s talk.
The SLO team is: myself, Steve Rowland, with overall responsibility for the role and nominally covering the South Stand on matchdays, Andy Higgins covering the North Stand, Karen McGuinness covering the West Stand and Geoff Moore covering the East Stand/away fans. You’ll find us in those stands or concourses on matchdays if you want to discuss issues face-to-face. One or more of us will also be at all away fixtures.
Additionally you can reach us via Twitter @BFCSLO, email at slo@blackpoolfc.co.uk and on Facebook as Blackpool FC Supporters’ Liaison Officer.
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NOSTALGIA by Steve Fisher Football clubs are like lifelong friends. We may fall out occasionally. We may exchange harsh words. We may even part for a while…but when we get back together and the good times roll, then hey, what the hell, it’s like it never happened…!
After the recent river of emotion that has cascaded forth from the terraces, I started to think again about the club I fell in love with those many years ago. Looking back has been pretty hard to do in recent times – after all, how can you think affectionately about a partner that’s hurt you? - but now the good ship Blackpool is sailing from the nightmare of a long, dark storm-tossed night into the light of an optimistic dawn, perhaps we can look back to ‘the good old days’ with a little more contentment and, dare I use the word, even pride? But that set me thinking – what was it that was so darned great about ‘the good old days’ anyway?
Well, my earliest BFC memory is the evening of Tuesday, 26th October 1971. How can I put such an accurate date on it? Because that’s the day my Dad and Uncle Rod took me to see Blackpool versus Aston Villa in the League Cup 4th round at Bloomfield Road. Blackpool’s ground looked old and shabby from the outside and the journey to our seats past the tea bars under the wooden stand on the West side of the ground was cramped, crowded and cold. But when I walked up the stairs and out into the seats, saw the floodlights, looked over to the packed scratching shed (over 20,000 were there that night) with the old Ismail’s coffee advertisement on the roof, and soaked in the atmosphere, I was captivated…and once the Pool had romped to a 4-1 win, with the King of Bloomfield Road, Alan Suddick et al tearing the claret and blue hordes to shreds, I was hooked!
Maybe I’m wearing rose (or perhaps Tangerine) tinted glasses, but the earliest matches I went to have a kind of magic about them that perhaps has been lost in football in general over recent years. As I recall, football was the preserve of the working classes, tickets were cheap and crowds were huge.
It was genuinely thrilling to be packed into a standing area with everyone swaying around. The surge from the back, the big metal barriers to lean on, the whole place jumping around and singing - it was just a great feeling! The paddocks at Blackpool used to get so full that kids would be passed to the front and lifted over the hoardings to sit around the edge of the playing area…sometimes next to the hay bales that used to be used to stop the pitch from freezing in the winter.
I used to have a rattle! Not a little plastic effort, but a big, heavy wooden one. I carried it to most games (with my silk scarf tied around the other wrist), even though once I’d rattled it a couple of times, my dad would usually say “that’s enough, you’re giving me a headache” and I’d then have to carry it around for the rest of the day like a rather large and ungainly water pistol.
Now some changes in football have been great – being able to go to a match without having your head kicked in is a definite advantage compared to the 1980’s - but some changes I’m less keen on… I hate the fact that officials are now not allowed to get things wrong – VAR, 4th officials, TV analysis, it’s pants! There was nothing better than coming out of a ground saying “we were robbed – the ref was garbage”! If it can be proved to four decimal places that you were definitely NOT robbed, then what have we got left to
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NOSTALGIA by Steve Fisher whinge about down the pub? I distinctly recall Terry Pashley scoring in front of the South Paddock, but without the ball actually going in the net. A long shot went wide, bounced back off the hoardings and into the netting behind the goal. The keeper came round to fetch it, but when he looked up, the ref was on the halfway line as he thought it had gone in. For the rest of the match, every time we were within 30 yards of the goal, there was a chorus of “shhooootttt!” from the paddock…
These days, it’s nice to know that every game and goal will be on telly, but that wasn’t always the case. I loved the excitement of arriving at a game to find that the BBC Match of The Day cameras were at the ground…and the joy of the MOTD theme tune being played over the tannoy before kickoff (a good number to jump around to)! This also meant that if you wanted to see the highlights you had to be there…or you were left with reading about it in “The Green”, Blackpool’s results paper, printed by the Gazette on a Saturday evening.
Whatever happened to floodlight failures..? The ground suddenly plunged into darkness, followed by cries of “has anyone got 50p for the meter”? And the big ironic cheers when the lights eventually flickered back on. I loved the banter, with the Laurel and Hardy theme whistled for the coppers and the raucous old chants “we are mad in the head, no one takes the scratching shed, na na na na, na na na, na naaa!” And the pre-tannoy days, with half time scores being hung on pegs at the side of the ground alongside letters of the alphabet and a key to the games in the back of the programme: “Game C: 0-1…hang on, does that mean Preston are losing at home” (again)?!
And before the internet turned phones into magnets for the eyes, I recall the end of seasons, where results elsewhere mattered and people all around the ground would be trying to listen to their radios over the noise of the crowd. I remember being in the away end at Darlington one year, when we were waiting for another result (Torquay?) to see if we’d made the playoffs, but no one knew the result and there were numerous outbreaks of cheers, spontaneous pitch invasions and the like, as ‘fake news”'kept breaking out.. but it was so damned exciting!
I look back with nostalgia at so many games gone by – I go to most games with my pal Brooksy and we’ve had some great times together, with a bag of cans on trains, coaches and automobiles (no planes that I can think of, other than when we hired a plane to take the vicar of Blackpool to Cardiff!) heading off to lord knows where to cheer the lads on. Remember the 3-3 draw at Deepdale (“who put the ball in the Preston net? Sooper Mikey Davies!”), the 7-1 defeat at Birmingham (I worked in Birmingham at the time and had a can of 7-Up on my desk on the Monday morning) or the wonderful away win at Darlington in the 80’s to seal promotion? I know that when I sit in my armchair in my dotage, those are the things I will look back on and smile.
Now I can bang on all day about programme sellers walking round the pitch, BFC lapel badges, proper tackles from the likes of Gary Briggs, standing on tiptoes when you entered the South Paddock to spot your mates, and the like…but before I finish, just let me say that, for me, the most nostalgic thing of all is the wonderful camaraderie and humour of my fellow Pool fans. I know I’m biased, but let me say proudly and unflinchingly that Blackpool fans are the best in the land. When the tension is high and we’re in full voice, we are the true twelfth man!
Now that we have an owner to be proud of and can once again head back down to Bloomfield Road to see the Blackpool aces, I can’t wait to stand shoulder to shoulder with you all again and sing the lads to victory…now that’s something we can all look back on together in future years with real nostalgia.
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HOME GROWN FAILURE & EUROPEAN COMPETITION REFORM (ECR) by BasilRobbie
Blackpool fans do not need telling that the bodies that govern the game leave a lot to be desired. The last five years have mercilessly exposed the EFL’s inability and / or unwillingness to tackle one of the most egregious examples of rogue ownership that the modern game has ever seen. The EPL has continued to assiduously line the pockets of its member clubs; and the FA has made a virtue of benign neglect.
The rich have got richer. The English game as a whole has seen inequality increase, such that a grand club like North Ferriby United can fold for the sake of less than £10,000, while Manchester United pay benchwarmers fifty times as much every WEEK. Meanwhile, rich league or not, our system of regulation - or lack of it - has fallen far behind that of almost every country in mainland Europe. Remarkable it may be, but you have more chance of seeing effective and independent scrutiny of the game in Greece and Romania than you do here.
Some fans have expressed the view that our Supporters Trust’s work is now done, with the demise of the Oystons. This could hardly be further from the truth. The other piece of good news we have had this year has been the departure of Shaun Harvey from his position as CEO of the EFL. How he was ever thought fit to be in a position of trust such as this will always be something of a mystery; much of the cultural malaise at the EFL can be traced back to him. He will not be missed.
One of the things that should shame the EFL in this post Harvey era is the remarkable number of clubs who have been - and , in some cases, still are - in serious trouble. Apart from ourselves, crises have come, gone (and occasionally stayed) at clubs as diverse as Coventry City, Northampton Town, Port Vale, Hereford United, Darlington, Dulwich Hamlet, Nottingham Forest, QPR and Birmingham City. At the time of writing Bury are in desperate financial trouble and may be heading for administration; Bolton Wanderers are already there, struggling to get out of it, and two and a half weeks before the season kicks off, have only a handful of players who are still intermittently withholding their labour because they have not been paid for many, many weeks. It all sounds very familiar.
The response of the EFL has been, and continues to be, pitiful. They seem incapable of learning from experience, unwilling to tackle what seem very obvious problems and determined to keep those who question or challenge them at a distance. It is important that organisations such as BST continue to hold their feet to the fire. The EFL, EPL and FA hold positions of trust in acting as custodians of our national sport, a sport that excites millions, generates billions (of pounds) and occupies a unique place in our society. Someone has to lead the fight to hold these bodies to account; it may as well be us.
In any case, an equally insidious threat to the game as we enjoy it is being hatched overseas and led ably by Juventus. They are one of a number of clubs who think that their size, and past record of European success, entitles them to special treatment. Planning for the future when they can’t be sure of qualifying for Europe is something of an inconvenience; a tiresome bother that can best be dealt with by changing the structure of European competition to tilt it very much in their favour. Why worry about qualifying on merit when you can vote yourself a permanent seat at the table?
Their plan is to effect change on two main fronts: Firstly, to greatly expand the current format of the Champions League such that the group stage consists of fourteen matches, rather than the current six. Said quickly, that doesn’t sound like much, but would undoubtedly lead to:
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HOME GROWN FAILURE & EUROPEAN COMPETITION REFORM (ECR) by BasilRobbie
• European games taking place at weekends
• Our domestic cups being pushed wholly into midweek
• FA Cup replays going the same way as those for the League Cup
• the League Cup becoming (for the biggest clubs) a glorified version of the Checkatrade Trophy. You already know what a triumph that has become
• Far more of the available broadcast and sponsorship revenue going the way of the new European elite. That the EPL is very much against this initiative tells you all you need to know about what kind of a threat it is to all but a very few.
Secondly, the structure of the European tournaments will be re-cast so as to dilute the number of places available through pure and fair competition. Instead, many places will be saved for clubs in the Big Five Leagues based upon their “history and heritage”. Put another way, had this idea been around when Leicester City won the EPL, they probably would not have been eligible to play in the Champions League - but Manchester United, who finished a country mile behind them, would have done. When you consider the implications properly, the new arrangement would make a mockery of being in the EPL if you are not one of the chosen few. Why take part in a League that offers you almost no rewards? Good, isn’t it?
It is proposed that the new system will come into force for the 2024/25 season. That makes it sound like a distant threat - but it isn’t. Policy and planning decisions to give effect to it will be taken in the next few months, with a major row expected at the next European stakeholder’s summit in Lisbon in the autumn. If this is to be fought off, it needs to be fought off - now. Popular opinion needs to be mobilised - now. And if you think the North Ferriby United's of this world are worth fighting for - then that fight has to be had NOW.
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THE GRAVY DEBATE by Pete Dixon (and Jane Stuart) The new season is nearly upon us, excitement abounds, lucky socks and pants are being searched for in dusty drawers, new scarves with ‘Blackpool Are Back’ adorning them are at the ready and even Wilf’s beanie hat, straining under the weight of eleventy million metal badges, still has the space for a couple of new ones.
We are all looking forward, at last, to a new dawn for our club. To say I am excited is an understatement. The magnitude of what has happened over the last few years has concluded with the arrival of a new and exciting owner, Simon Sadler, a new manager in Simon ‘Larry’ Grayson - and new hope and optimism, the like of which we haven’t seen for many, many years.
Which is why it is so important to discuss one of this pre-season’s burning topics on and off message boards. Fish, chips and gravy: is it wrong or right?
Now Blackpool is famous for its fish, chips and mushy peas, so if any critics will know it will be Sandgrownuns who have been weaned on fish and chips since they were born. I’m not talking about Southerners here, who wouldn’t know decent fish and chips if it slapped them round the face; I mean they eat pickled eggs and wallys with their fish and chips! Wallys!!! Great big, vinegary gherkins! That is just disgusting!
So imagine my shock when our very own fanzine creator and editor confessed to loving fish, chips & gravy! I have to say I was shocked. I am no fish and chip purist - personally my choice is fish, chips & curry sauce, which is tried and tested and beyond criticism… But fish with gravy? NO! NO! NO! It’s wrong on every level. Gravy is the king of sauces; in fact it’s such a great sauce it is not called a sauce, it has its own name. Northerners love gravy, Southerners love gravy...it’s an institution. No Sunday roast is complete without it, sausage and mash, toad in the hole, steak pie or pudding, chips with gravy and even bread and gravy, but, I’m sorry, two great British traditions - fresh deep-fried fish in batter and lovely gravy - do NOT go together. There has to be something wrong with anyone who thinks it is a match made in heaven when it is undoubtedly a match made in hell! I asked the question on the AVFTT message board and these are some of the replies:
‘Gravy on fish is wrong on every level. I am appalled that someone in my social circle does this, and has done so for a long time. This is what living in Mercia can do to you. Next it will be strawberry flavoured stout (or some other outrage), and then the fabric of life and reality will begin to unravel.’ ‘Gravy on fish? Your head should be on a spike at the town hall as a warning to others.’ ‘Can't get the thought of gravy on fish out of my head. That is disgusting!’ ‘What kind of freak would put meat juices over a crispy fish?’ ‘If you had advocated gravy on fish during any of the thousands of our car journeys on the M6 you'd have been walking home along the hard shoulder. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! on so many levels.’
Is the jury really still out on this? I give Jane the right to reply and defend the indefensible, but the majority think it is without question…WRONG!
After I had written the above, I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the Cricket World Cup final. Little did I know this would throw up a linked conundrum. How could a cup final at Lords have an impact on the debate of gravy on fish? Well it has! One of the guys I was with, another poster from AVFTT, went off to get some food and came back with...steak pie, chips & curry sauce!!! The world’s gone mad!
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THE GRAVY DEBATE by Pete Dixon (and Jane Stuart)
EDITOR’S RIGHT TO REPLY This subject does seem to cause quite a stir! This all stemmed from a complimentary tweet that I posted of what what quite simply the BEST meal I’d ever tasted: fish, chips and gravy at Steels Cornerhouse Restaurant in Cleethorpes (if you’re ever up that way, do pay them a visit). I’m a big advocate of spreading the word about places that excite me because I want EVERYONE to enjoy them.
Imagine my shock when my innocent tweet received a scathing backlash from the people of Cleethorpes and Grimsby:
‘Filth!’ ‘Savage!’ ‘People have been executed for less.’ ‘You’ll be strung up round here.’ ‘When will these people learn???’ You can read all about how I was almost hounded out of Cleethorpes (on two separate occasions) in my blog at www.janestuart.co.uk (‘A Storm in a Gravy Boat’ and ‘All Aboard The Gravy Train’).
Now I appreciate the people of Clee might have different ideas to the likes of us Blackpool folk when it comes to food, so I just put this down to geographical gastronomic differences. But to then receive similar outrage to gravy from MY OWN PEOPLE as well as the locals came as somewhat of a disappointment:
‘OMG Jane, surely you must have had a frontal lobotomy to even consider that?’ ‘No no no…should be banned from ever setting foot in Steels again.’ ‘Bringing twisted west coast voodoo to Cleethorpes? Could be burnt at the stake!’ ‘I’m as northern as they come but gravy on fish and chips? You can f*** that sky high.’ Has my palate changed as a result of living in the Black Country for over 20 years? Sure I eat a LOT more Indian food these days. And the chippies down here are terrible! I travel some distances to seek out ‘award-winning’ Midlands chippies and they always but always get something wrong. All I ask is for three ingredients to be right: fish, chips and gravy. How hard can that be? Either the fish is too watery, the batter too crisp, the chips too thin or anaemic or the gravy too thin or tastes wrong. For goodness’ sake they even BATTER THE CHIPS down here. Can you believe that? I suppose at least they are tangerine as a result, but there’s really no need for that.
Hence these days I travel even further afield to seek out a chippy tea. I find myself spending more and more time Up North, where I have realised is the only place I can find a chippy that satisfies my standards. The top three so far are: Steels Cornerhouse Restaurant (Cleethorpes), Cemetery Chippy (Colne) and Saddle Chippy (Blackpool), where I can recommend the lush battered haggis (another thing you can’t get where I live).
I will continue my exploratory mission because I know this is important work. If you know of any good chippies please do let me know. And next time you’re there, why not live a little and try a drop of gravy on your fish and chips? You never know, you might just like it...
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PRE-SEASON by Jane Stuart I love pre-season. It’s an opportunity to catch up with friends not seen for months and, with so few of us at the away trips, a chance to spend quality time with fellow Seasiders that you don’t really get during the season proper. I suppose you’d say it was more intimate - especially on the tours. I forged some wonderful friendships - and shared some amazing memories - on the three trips to Latvia. You also feel closer to the club somehow.
Pre-season has been very different for me the last couple of years, as I’ve been working as Match Secretary at Chasetown Football Club. I’ve spent the time frantically signing players (every player needs to be re-registered at the start of every season) and reminding myself how to do my matchday job! Part of the job was to produce the teamsheet and also record the times of goals (and scorers) and substitutions (and players subbed). What with the number of subs in some of the friendlies, as managers take a look at the whole squad, as well as me being out of practice, this could prove somewhat challenging! I remember being pleased as Punch when I managed to successfully record all seven WBA subs (made at the same time, with no subs boards used!) last year. The trick is to look for the shirt numbers that remain on the pitch and figure out the subbed players through process of elimination. This was made extra difficult by the stripy WBA shirts making the numbers difficult to decipher. I was so chuffed with myself when I had figured them all out that I completely failed to register who scored their goal five minutes later! You see everyone at the club needs pre-season to get them warmed up for the start of the season proper.
Whilst I’ve not been at the Chase friendlies this season, I have still signed players, arranged the matches with the opposition secretaries (confirming venues, colours and kick-off times) and organised match officials for the home friendlies. I could have gone along to a couple of matches which didn’t clash with the Seasiders fixtures but I need to distance myself from the club now and let them get on with things without me. It’s hard because I loved it there but Blackpool need me now and I need Blackpool.
It took a lot of wrestling with myself to keep away from the Seasiders’ first friendly at Dundee (covered elsewhere on pages 16-17), as I knew it would be a brilliant adventure (not least because my favourite brewery - Fierce - has recently opened a bar in Edinburgh that I’m dying to visit). I get addicted to football, you see. From 1996 I went 13 years without missing a single Blackpool match including all cup matches and friendlies. I have learned how to miss matches now but I still don’t find it easy. Quite simply, if Blackpool are there, I want to be there. Come the Fylde match, there was no keeping me away...
AFC Fylde (a) - Tuesday 16th July 2019 During my time in non-league, I have broadened my footballing horizons and made friends across the wider football family. I have come to realise that all football fans want the same thing and we have so much in common. I now have such affection for a number of clubs - Cleethorpes Town, Atherton Collieries and Colwyn Bay, to name but three - and have learned to enjoy football for football’s sake. In May I took the opportunity to attend Non League Finals Day at Wembley. What a great day out this is! You get to see two cup finals (FA Vase and FA Trophy) at Wembley and admission is only £25 for adults, £10 for concessions and £1 for under-16s. In the Vase final were Cray Valley Paper Mills (how could I not support a team with a name like that?!) v Chertsey Town. And the Trophy final saw AFC Fylde take on (and beat) Leyton Orient (we’d seen them lose here before).
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PRE-SEASON by Jane Stuart I’d been to AFC Fylde’s home, Mill Farm, previously - they hosted Brett Ormerod’s testimonial in 2016. That was a surreal experience, being surrounded by so many Seasiders in a ground that wasn’t our own, because we simply didn’t have a home at that time, Bloomfield Road being out of bounds. So it was with mixed emotions that I returned to Kirkham/Wesham/wherever it is for tonight’s friendly.
I’ve recently acquired a car, which theoretically should make it easier to get to (and more pertinently home from) matches. I’ll not be taking it everywhere (I know I need to research pubs for you, dear reader) but it will be my transport of choice for trips to the Fylde Coast, so I tootled up the M6 (I live in Walsall) this afternoon and bopped away to the radio. Now I haven’t really listened to the radio for some years, preferring to immerse myself in music of my choice via Apple Music. And I confess I’m struggling to find stations that I like. I’m happy with Greatest Hits Radio, which gets me up to ‘Tree Corner’ on the M6, but once I hit Cheshire I can find nothing to sing my heart out to. I settle for Heart FM as I’m entering Lancashire but I’m not entirely happy with it. I’m trying but I think I’ll have to resort to playing my own tunes in future. Audio accompaniment aside, I’m enjoying the motorway driving - I find it relaxing (although there is a boring 50MPH stretch that seems to last the length of Staffordshire, which slows my journey down to a little over two hours).
On arrival in Blackpool I headed out on fanzine promotion (and cat reviewing) business before heading to a new favourite pub of mine - Bloomfield Brewhouse. You may recall I popped in here before the Gillingham game at the end of last season and was impressed with the atmosphere and menu. More recently I have discovered that the food and ale are of excellent quality, so I called in here today for my tea. I enjoyed the curry of the day (Chicken Massaman) and an Elland Blonde (just the ticket for a sweltering day). Having walked a couple of miles (in heels) to get here, I was pleased that Lee answered my appeal to collect me from the pub before driving us to the game.
The traffic was heavy as we approached Mill Farm but we managed to find street parking outside some new build houses close by. This really was a lovely, peaceful-yet-easily-accessible area, with some stunning views. I could live in Wesham, I think.
It was lovely to see so many familiar friendly faces in and around the ground. I was reminded that the most important part of pre-season as a fan is simply catching up with friends not seen for months - in some cases years. The match was almost immaterial really. I still don’t know who most of the players are (names on shirts would have been most helpful tonight!). It was pleasing to see Pool attacking hungrily from the off, although the killer instinct was lacking in the first half. Fylde were no match for us though and we got a couple in the second half from Fonz and new boy Yussuf.
After filling up with petrol (and being pleased with the sub-£25 cost of a return trip to Blackpool, which smashes the £62.50 train fare) I tootled back down the M6 the and was pleased to have another easy run home. The radio was worse than ever, though. This needs addressing pronto. Must do me a driving playlist...
Barrow (a) - Saturday 20th July 2019 To read about my adventures on the road to Barrow - and see my vlogging debut - please visit my blog at www.janestuart.co.uk.
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TH’OWD FELLAH - A BIT O’HISTORY AND A NEW START Testing, One Two, One Two. Nora am I on? Can’t get t’ grips wi’ this modern rubbish, talking t’ a damned stupid screen, I’m still a board and chalk man, anyway ‘ere goes, but arl go tut foot of our stairs if it works.
Not sure why they wanted me t’ say a few words, as I felt I’d retired from th’ limelight with Nora a long time ago. But, thowt I’d add me ten penneth for old time sake. I have supported Blackpool through thick and thin for more years than I care to remember, allars trying to remain positive and looking for any chinks of light in th’ darkness. In th’ words of th’ owd joke, I’ve often thowt I’ve seen th’ light at th’ end ot long tunnel, just to realise it’s some swine in th’ dark saving cash by using a candle. I never minded coming out in all weathers t’ see my team play, and haven’t minded travelling t’ such far flung and exotic outposts as Torquay, Plymouth, Brighton, Sarfend, Carlisle and Hartlepool, those Monkey Hangers knew how t’ throw bricks, without doubt. In th’Premier season I missed one match due t’ sommat beyond my control. It seemed at th’ time that things were looking up and we had th’ benefit of a new investor known as Uncle Val. We were top ot Premiership table albeit for a short period and by Christmas were still in th’ top half ot table. All it needed were a little bit o’ sensible investment t’ keep us up for another season of ‘The Best Trip’, but t’ th’ then owners, investment was a swearword, so it never ‘appened and we dropped and dropped and dropped again into the abyss ut second division, th’ fourth division to me, and it were clear that sommat was up and needed puttin’ right!
Nar then, during th’dark days of Cartmell, which is going back a bit, but which I remember very well, I kept my chin up and tried t’ remain confident that someday, something or someone would turn up and end our misery of year after year of turgid lower division football following on from the sacking of Allan Brown and the breaking up of what was then a damned good team. Anyhow, what turned up, did so in a fedora and sun glasses, was full of empty promises. We all know his name Oyster. Flaming spell checker it won’t accept Oyster Arghhh. Sorry about that he will ‘ave t’ be called Oyster. Suffice t’ say I don’t like those slimy things wi’ thick shells either, that are a bit like swallowing a bogey from a dental plate, or so I would imagine. Ha, Ha, slimy things wi a thick shell… Anyhow, this bogeyman, Oyster, besides being jailed for satisfying his carnal desires without asking th’ young girl’s permission, managed to transfer all th’ money th ’club made for his own pleasures and delights. But didn’t think abart the consequences of his actions. Th’ fans weren’t enamoured by this slight of hand and a certain investor from Latvia, who will alors be in the hearts of Blackpool fans, decided to take action. Th’fans, God bless ‘em, on the whole took t’ protesting by not going tut games , while Uncle Val chose the legal route t’ dispossess th’ club from the reaches of th’ Oysters. Nah then as we all know in th’ end it worked and we find ourselves in a new era with th’ long sought after Unicorn in charge and a new/old manager.
Welcome back t’ Bloomfield Road Simon Sadler and team. I’m sure you will be th’ custodian th’ fans and th’ club were looking for.
‘He’s one of our own, he’s one of our own that Simon Sadler, He’s one of our own.’
Just t’ end this bit, can I ask you all to take your rubbish home or at least put it in a bin, otherwise it makes th’ place look untidy and I promise not t’ mention Oysters agin.
Wuz that OK Nora? I didn’t b***** well swear once, Oh sh*t, well never mind I’m sure they will all have heard and seen worse. Bye all.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS by Jane Stuart Thank you for reading ‘Now That’s What I Call Progress’. I hope you enjoyed the read.
I cannot thank the BFC family enough for your encouragement and support as I have worked to put this fanzine together. It has been hard work but immensely rewarding. Especial thanks to Lee for the inspiration and Rob for the amazing artwork. Thanks also to the 16 content contributors for this issue - as well as those of you whose articles haven’t made it in and who are still working on pieces. I have been overwhelmed with contributions and already have plenty of content for the next issue.
The deadline for content for Issue 2 is 30th September. Please email articles, photos, funnies anything that might appeal to our readers - to jane@janestuart.co.uk. If you would like to advertise in the fanzine, help out with matchday sales or stock the fanzine in your pub or shop, again please contact me.
There will be a further four issues of ‘Now That’s What I Call Progress’ released this season, covering October/November, December/January, February/March and April/May.
Please like the fanzine page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @progress1887. We are active on social media to keep you up to date with how things are progressing with the fanzine, including details of how to subscribe for online and hard copies.
You can also buy copies of the fanzine in Bloomfield Brewhouse, Brew Room and No. 10 Alehouse. They are all great pubs and well worth a visit.
Thank you for your support. UTMP.
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