Stour

[Yeltzbaby]

Football attracts a percentage of idiot fans, always has and probably always will. Sad but true. Football is the game of the people, it will therefor reflect society as a whole I.e these poorly behaved individuals are just that......and exists outside of football grounds.
Have to say though I think the general standard of behaviour within and around Football grounds has improved 100% since the 80's. Time naturally makes people forget and those who weren't old enough to remember Football back then and comment on today's poor behaviour simply wouldn't believe their eyes or ears if transported back to the very bad days of early to late eighties.
On the pitch - we continue our push for promotion

[YeltzBaggieNick]

Mention for the referee yesterday who I thought had a really good game.
Understood the intensity of the fixture and the conditions and wasnt sucked in by players falling over looking for free kicks.

I presume due to the size of the fixture he usually officiates at a higher level but certainly much better than what we get most weeks

Excellent point - I think the referee had a superb game.

[Seamus]

A couple of points I don't think have been mentioned.
Willets stepping in for the suspended Wynter was immense, commanding in the air & great with distribution, not sure how many games he has played since his last appearance for us but did not spot any rustiness or stamina issues.
Secondly stamina, the work rate and will to win was immense, I felt the opposition faded as we got stronger, our fitness levels must be some of the best in this league.

[YeltzDoc]

For those that don't get a programme, and to further inflate my ego, a piece wot I wrote for yesterday's -

A Team Of Rivals?

“Write something on them lot up the road Doc”.

Hmmm. It would be easy just to take cheap shots and head down the “Banter Busico” route. So, let’s do that then.

Or maybe not. There’s (only) three sides to every debate (behave) so before the us-and-them, let’s try a bit of social-cultural anthropology to begin with, especially as it’s already the main subject thrashed out on the terraces every Saturday.

Noted Belgian Ethnologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss (who I think John Hill tried to sign as cover from Khalsa) argued that it was in the genes (groan) and whilst not riveting (stop it now) maybe he had a point.
Whisper it, “We’re all the same”.

Grassroots, gates of 500-1000 depending upon the winds, occasional national “acclaim”, National aspirations, “Local Businessman”, cup runs, beery coachfulls to obscure East Anglian villages, Evran, Snapper, Garry Hackett, John Chambers (shudders), No-Comparison, Lewis Solly, Paul Joinson (I still can’t get over that one).
Us or them?

I mean, us, obviously, but why the animosity and not, “Hands-Across-The Viaduct”?
“Yeah, but it’s always been like that”.
Has it though? My old-gittery only stretches back to the 1980s, when there was a notable incident of proper nastiness, with one permanent mental scar of a bloodstained stab-victim being led across the Amblecoat pitch by a female police officer, so any claims of “the modern disease” may well be reverse nostalgia of the strangest type.

But, pre-late 70s, early 80s hooli, was it all flat caps and rattles? I rather suspect that it was.
Those older and wiser than me (nods to LLL) remember the 60s and 70s when it was perfectly normal to have a season ticket at both the Albion and the Villa, get the 130 up the road to watch STFC if we were away, and even in my callow yoof, we’d do them, The Lye, Kiddy and us, often multipley, on high days and holidays.

Online mouth-frothery and keyboard warriorness seems to have fanned the flames a bit, with the most humourless and soulless of “Banter Pages” set up to allow the intellectual debate to flourish, and TwitterX, despite the best efforts of shining wits like the genuinely funny @YouYeltz, tends to fall to the lowest common denominator disappointingly quickly.

But, you miserable old sod, I hear you think, get with the times Grandad.
And there’s merit in that. For what is a largely tongue-in-cheek, rather than boot-in-balls scenario, it doesn’t half pack ‘em in. The gates are unbelievable and that wouldn’t be possible without the Year 9 Day Outers who’ve been TikToked into believing the hype.
(And, in an off-topic note of seriousness, chapeau to both clubs for schemes to keep out the schemers.)

There was a time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Les Randle was only 52, when even your worshipful, pillock-of-the-community author was a fresh-faced urchin and part of the unruly rabble. We’re not born 50-odd and knowingly sardonic you know, other than Ada, obviously.

Like blessings and cocktails, mixed is what you get. And sometimes an umbrella.

As long as those who are still more Biactol than Sanatogen can keep it real on the mean streets of South Central Halesowen, (which geographically is Hasbury, fact fans) and we don’t return to the proppa nawty Casuals of yore, then I’m fine with it.

And let’s not forget the memories that only a bit of local passion can make (steady…). A personal highlight of recent years has to be…no, not Jack appearing from nowhere to smash in the fourth, but the YouTube of Sid and Kev casually strolling past the “Disgraceful ScenesTM” on their way back to The Duke for another Citra.

So, bring on the fun and games, in (almost) all of their multifarious hues, and “Up The Black Country Yeltz”, but whilst also wishing the best of luck (after 4:50pm) to our friends from their small Worcestershire market town, with its proud industrial history of making little crystal swans for yer nan.

YeltzDoc.

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[lalas]

A massive win that. A draw against Kettering on Tuesday will be a good result and then the next 4 games look winnable.

[andy]

For those that don't get a programme, and to further inflate my ego, a piece wot I wrote for yesterday's -

A Team Of Rivals?

“Write something on them lot up the road Doc”.

…….

YeltzDoc.

Another very worthy effort from Huby's finest. Finest what I'm not quite sure and admittedly I know nothing of the competition, but it can only be the odd farmer and a couple of his animals. But I have to say it has left me reeling. I can only assume I have conveniently erased it from my memory, but Paul played for Stour? Really? Was it pre or post Worcester?

[YeltzDoc]

Post. Right at the very end and only for a couple of games.
At least that’s how I remember it.
LLL, or the STFC version, TRM, can no doubt corroborate or correct me if I’ve completely mis-remembered.
(And I hope I have…).

[Dazzie76]

We got there in the end but hey ho we have got to be better than that.
Stour probably the worst side I've seen this season but we were just as bad until the substitutes. Set piece delivery again over hit or silly short corners that didint work. As for the crowd well not for the first time seen with my own eyes why are a group of young uns just walking through stewards and turnstile operators without either an adult or a youth card with no questions asked . And the young group of away fans (twats from that area) that were in the ground early shouting at every one walking across the park presuming they came in no questions asked, moving on to the adults the few that stood by me that bought pints for their kids that were probably aged about 12 and they wonder why.they turn out like they do. A lot of Genuine Stour fans will not attend this fixture just like a lot of genuine yeltz fans won't go.to the cricket ground me for one. Rant over

[lutleyyeltz]

I think that you speak for a good number of genuine fans of both teams.
I, personally, detest this fixture for the same reasons that you outlined.
Even with our decent crowds of a 1000 plus I can recognise, and acknowledge, the regulars at The Grove.
However, the two games a season nutjobs altered that!
On Saturday the group that I stand with, under the TV tower, were surrounded by foul mouthed characters who spent most of the time swilling beer, paying little or no attention to the game.
Yes, I'm an old fart, but I don't enjoy this sort of atmosphere for my Saturday football fix - although the final result did temper my annoyance!

[MichaelGrove]

As for the crowd well not for the first time seen with my own eyes why are a group of young uns just walking through stewards and turnstile operators without either an adult or a youth card with no questions asked .

Can’t comment on the previous occasions but for this game the ‘young uns’ would have needed the youth card to buy the ticket in the first place. I know they checked my lads card when I got my tickets.