Football - grass roots style
Sept 12, 2017 21:21:27 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2017 21:21:27 GMT
As you will know I am a supporter of Manchester City. I go when I can; sometimes it can be very good value as entertainment but the relationship with the players and staff is negligible at best.
Salford City Football Club is located within a 15 minute walk of my house. It has never registered on my radar and I didn't even know how to get in. However, a couple of years ago it was taken over by various members of the Manchester United dream team including Ryan Giggs and other well known names. They have invested in the club and its facilities, it has started moving up the leagues and there is something exciting happening.
I went to my first match there tonight. Pouring with rain, we huddled in our seats under a canopy, no more than 3m from the touchline, within talking distance of the linesman and a real connection to the game. You could actually hear the players calling to each other. First half was very good and ended 3-0 to Salford with one superb strike on the whistle, but the second half was a bit dull and no more goals were added. £10 for me and £5 for my student son. All a bit basic, but real football, no histrionics on the pitch, no rolling around in fake agony; if a player got taken down, he lay there clearly in pain and hobbled off for a bit of treatment, rather than miraculously getting up and running at full tilt ten seconds later. Fewer fouls, less (no) bad language from the supporters and somewhere I could take young children without fearing for their spiritual welfare or them learning new and embarrassing words.
Yes, I missed the Etihad with its big screens with the replays, MCFC do have some genuine great players of great skill which can be very exciting to watch and the overall 'show' is well done, but there is something more wholesome about watching a very local team, filled with players who know the local area and being able to walk there and back in less time it takes to get out of the Etihad and into my car.
Still unsure though about singing 'come on you Reds', that is one step too far for a lifelong sky Blue.
Salford City Football Club is located within a 15 minute walk of my house. It has never registered on my radar and I didn't even know how to get in. However, a couple of years ago it was taken over by various members of the Manchester United dream team including Ryan Giggs and other well known names. They have invested in the club and its facilities, it has started moving up the leagues and there is something exciting happening.
I went to my first match there tonight. Pouring with rain, we huddled in our seats under a canopy, no more than 3m from the touchline, within talking distance of the linesman and a real connection to the game. You could actually hear the players calling to each other. First half was very good and ended 3-0 to Salford with one superb strike on the whistle, but the second half was a bit dull and no more goals were added. £10 for me and £5 for my student son. All a bit basic, but real football, no histrionics on the pitch, no rolling around in fake agony; if a player got taken down, he lay there clearly in pain and hobbled off for a bit of treatment, rather than miraculously getting up and running at full tilt ten seconds later. Fewer fouls, less (no) bad language from the supporters and somewhere I could take young children without fearing for their spiritual welfare or them learning new and embarrassing words.
Yes, I missed the Etihad with its big screens with the replays, MCFC do have some genuine great players of great skill which can be very exciting to watch and the overall 'show' is well done, but there is something more wholesome about watching a very local team, filled with players who know the local area and being able to walk there and back in less time it takes to get out of the Etihad and into my car.
Still unsure though about singing 'come on you Reds', that is one step too far for a lifelong sky Blue.
