TT No.145: Andy Gallon - Mon 3rd January 2011; Nottingham United v Welbeck Welfare; CML Prem Div;        Res: 8-0; Att: 22 (h/c); Admission: £2 (incl 24pp programme); FGIF Match Rating: ** 

 

 

Matchday images (13) http://picasaweb.google.com/footballgroundsinfocus/NottinghamUnitedFC02

 

THE PLACE: West Bridgford is a pleasant suburb of Nottingham, just south of the city centre and close to the sporting triumvirate of Nottingham Forest FC, Nottinghamshire CCC and Notts County FC. Red-brick terraces and Victorian semis line a grid of similar roads, with a parade of shops touting stoically for custom. Caught between the bright lights of the city and convenient out-of-town developments, West Bridgford’s retailers must find it a real struggle to keep their heads above water. Old Westminster warhorse Ken Clarke is the local MP. A Tory I like. Rare indeed!

 

THE CLUB: Formed in Beeston by a bunch of mates as recently as April 2008, Nottingham United run six open-age teams in five different leagues. The senior XI won promotion to the Premier Division of the Central Midlands League last summer after two seasons in the Notts Senior competition. In August 2010, United signed deals with several pro Bulgarian clubs, who will send academy talent to Nottingham to gain more experience. Former Bulgaria central defender and coach Dimitar Penev is honorary club president. United hope this summer to move their first team from Gresham Sports Park to the former Siemens ground on Trent Vale Road in Beeston. They are working to obtain a lease from landowners HSBC. Without that security, it would be pointless spending the money needed to upgrade to CML standard the dressing rooms and floodlights. If the move to Beeston fails to come off, United have been given the all-clear by CML bosses to remain at Gresham Sports Park.

 

THE GROUND: A bog standard floodlit 3G set-up - ‘cage football’ - lacking any proper spectator facilities and therefore unworthy of being described as ‘a ground’. The design can be seen up and down Britain. Gresham Sports Park, between Wilford Lane and an embankment of the former Great Central Railway main line to London, is situated on the Trent’s flood plain and administered by Rushcliffe Borough Council (slogan: Great Place, Great Lifestyle, Great Sport). There is a modern school (one of which reveals architectural references to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh) at each end of the site, and both educational establishments boast their own extensive pitches. A single-storey, red-brick pavilion is at the heart of Gresham Sports Park, and contains no less than 16 dressing rooms, catering for the army of players who do battle on rolling acres of grass pitches. The pavilion, opened about four years ago, is light, airy and neon bright. For games on the 3G, accessed from the pavilion by a narrow path, United bring along portable dug-outs, which they locate on the north touchline, and a rope barrier, strung out opposite, between the 18-yard lines. There’s no cover, no terracing, no turnstile - no proper football infrastructure. Comically, a wire, suspended about nine feet off the ground, crosses the pitch in each half. This allows a mesh curtain to separate the playing area into smaller pitches for community use. When the ball strikes the wires, play has to be halted. One can’t help feeling the admittance of United to the CML on the basis of these risible facilities merely reflects the competition’s increasing desperation to attract new members after losing several of its leading clubs to the East Midlands Counties League.

 

THE GAME: It takes two to tango, and watching just one dancer strut their stuff is never satisfactory. The teams were languishing in the bottom three before kick-off, with just two league wins apiece, but the close encounter I expected failed to materialise. United were ahead through Adam Griffin’s dipping 20-yarder after just 18 seconds, and when Welbeck had Jonathan Lord sent off for handling on the goalline an Adam Woolley header in the 12th minute, Neal Stevenson converting the resultant penalty, the outcome was never in doubt. But how many would United score?

Welbeck, who have the division's least impressive defensive record, saw their luck take a distinct turn for the worse in the second half, during which they lost grimacing goalkeeper Tom Chambers to a dislocated left shoulder. But at least the visitors, who refused to chuck in the towel, made a game of it after the break, holding the home team scoreless until the last 20 minutes. With better finishing, and fewer interventions by the woodwork, United could have bagged between 10 and 15 goals. This was their first home league win of the season. So much for the advantage of playing regularly on an artificial pitch! “The surface doesn’t suit us,” quipped amiable secretary Martin Menkov. Also on the mark for United were Akilu Giwa (23 & 44), Dan Bramley (39, 73 & 83) and Alex Cale (76). Giwa’s first goal, a stunning 30-yarder from wide on the left, was the pick of United’s eight.

 

THE PROGRAMME: For this level, surprisingly good. Puzzling that United officials made no attempt to sell their commendable issue, and, because it was included with admission, presumably this denied them the opportunity to take a gate. Why go to the trouble of putting together a programme (even if league rules demand one) and then leave it gathering dust? If you want a copy, you’ll have to ask in the pavilion kitchen.

 

THE VERDICT: Somewhere to visit in the interests of gaining a ‘tick’ and swelling your programme collection. That’s it.

contributed on 04/01/11