View From The Back Of The Stand 7

Saturday 1, 15, 29 August

Worcester City v Colwyn Bay, Droylsden, Harrogate

By the time we get to City’s third home game of the new season I realise that I have run out of things to say in this blog and I am beginning to run the risk of repeating myself and boring the pants off any readers not bored already. I voice this concern to Nic and Jane. Jane obviously agrees as she brings along her new video recorder to the Droylsden game, intending to make a video diary of match day in the PA box. There’s no ego soothing dilly-dallying from this woman just brutal honesty. “Yep it’s not very good, let’s do something interesting”. And so the three of us take turns at filming each other before and during the game. We even record the moment City score, revealing Nic’s rather impressive ability to cheer and press the goal music at the same time. At the end I ask Jane about what video-editing suite she has. She looks at me blankly and I decide to keep on writing.

During these games we once again encounter an age-old problem. Unless the opposition have an electronic substitute board then we find it very hard to figure out who is coming off. The player coming on is no problem but the PA box is at such an angle to the dugouts that the player coming off rarely shows us his back, and therefore it becomes difficult to announce the substitution. The remedy is for me to hare down to the back of the dugouts and try to ask the opposing team’s manager who he has just taken off. This occasionally takes some time as he invariably thinks I’m a supporter who is going to give him some lip. On the plus side, all the running about keeps me fit.  

At the end of the Harrogate game I am standing near the cage waiting to give out fixture posters when the visitors score a fully deserved injury time equaliser. There is a deadly silence and you can hear the players celebrating as City fans start to stream out. This highlights a problem that we have at St George’s Lane in this final season at the ground. No travelling fans. All the gates this season have been around 800 but no opposition has brought more than a handful of fans. Even though the teams have travelled a fair way I am sure that they used to bring more support with them back in the days before the recession. Perhaps it’s the cost of petrol, lack of disposable income, football on the telly or the availability of full match commentary via the internet, but whatever the reason the only way it is affecting Worcester City FC is in the bank balance, as a near perfect start to the season has seen four wins and one draw from the opening five fixtures.

The Colwyn Bay game is sponsored by the Friends of Kieran Mooney, who died suddenly a year previously. For those who didn’t know him, he was a big cheery chap who followed the City all over the country, whenever he could, often getting back to his Leeds home in the middle of the night after a budget journey of numerous changes. Always in his City shirt, he had friends throughout the Conference North and South, and introduced the half-time Conference North/South scores to City’s announcements. I play Nick Cave, Pixies and Steve Harley, artists that he was fond of, in remembrance.  

I risk the wrath of Mrs Clarke when I swap the winning goal music around for the Droylsden game. The last two seasons have been pretty successful at home so some may not know that we have winning, drawing and losing music. When we lose we play downbeat or “don’t worry it will be alright” music, while a draw will see some middling sounds, not too cheerful but also not to depressive. A win will result in upbeat music, generally “I’ve Got A Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas followed by some other celebratory thing or other. Jane is pretty precious about the Black Eyed Peas being played after a win so when I swap it for U2’s “Beautiful Day” I get a look that could kill from a thousand yards. Nic on the other hand is happily singing along as he much prefers Bono’s effort. Whether I will be brave enough to do it again remains to be seen.

Playlist: Colwyn Bay

Before

Yellow Submarine                                          The Beatles                

Firework                                                          Katy Perry      

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together   Taylor Swift   

Forget You                                                      Cee Lo Green 

Bangarang (feat. Sirah)                                   Skrillex           

Rocket Man                                                    Elton John      

How We Do (Party)                                        Rita Ora         

Do Anything You Wanna Do                         Eddie & The Hot Rods          

Just Dance                                                       Lady Gaga     

Feel The Love                                                 Rudimental feat John Newman         

Pump Up The Volume                                    M/A/R/R/S     

Uptown Top Ranking                                     Althia & Donna         

Watchtower feat. Ed Sheeran                         Devlin            

Gold On The Ceiling                                      The Black Keys          

Angels                                                             The XX          

Where The Wild Roses Grow                         Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 

Debaser                                                           Pixies  

Pound The Alarm                                            Nicki Minaj    

Harder Than You Think                                  Public Enemy

Smells Like Teen Spirit                                   Nirvana          

Good Feeling                                                  Flo Rida                                             

HT

Bom Bom                                                        Sam And The Womp

Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)       Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel      

The Great Pretender                                        The Platters    

Bounce                                                            Calvin Harris (feat Kelis)

After

I Gotta Feeling                                                Black Eyed Peas                    

Greatest Day                                                   Take That                                                       

Playlist: Droylsden

Before

Harder Than You Think                                  Public Enemy

Lightning                                                        The Wanted   

San Pedro                                                        Mogwai          

We'll Be Coming Back feat. Example           Calvin Harris  

Wings                                                              Little Mix       

Tiger Feet                                                        Mud   

Primadonna                                                     Marina & The Diamonds       

This Ain't A Love Song                                  Scouting For Girls      

Levels                                                              Avicii

Caroline                                                           Status Quo     

Sleep Alone                                                     Two Door Cinema Club         

Deepest Shame                                               Plan B            

Dirty Paws                                                      Of Monsters And Men          

Buffalo Soldier                                               Bob Marley    

She Moves In Her Own Way                         The Kooks                  

Good Time (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen)               Owl City

Paradise                                                           Coldplay        

Bom Bom                                                        Sam And The Womp

Jilted John                                                       Jilted John

HT

I Cry                                                                Flo Rida         

Angels                                                             The XX          

You Need Hands                                            Max Bygraves

Spectrum(Say My Name)Calvin Harris RemixFlorence + The Machine       

After

Beautiful Day                                                 U2      

I Gotta Feeling                                                Black Eyed Peas         The E.N.D.     

Playlist: Harrogate

Before

Something Good                                             Alt-J   

Under The Sun                                                Cheryl

Bat Out Of Hell                                              Meat Loaf      

Better Together                                               Jack Johnson  

It's Getting Better                                           Mama Cass Elliot       

Stereo Hearts                                                  Gym Class Heroes     

Watchtower feat. Ed Sheeran                         Devlin                                    

Get Ready                                                       The Temptations        

Price Tag                                                         Jessie J

Thunder Road                                                 Frank Turner  

The Model                                                       Kraftwerk      

This Is Love (feat. Eva Simons)                     Will.i.am         

Empire State Of Mind                                    Jay Z  

Wolf                                                                First Aid Kit  

(You're The) Devil In Disguise                       Elvis Presley   

Somewhere in Neverland                                All Time Low

Pretty In Pink                                                  The Psychedelic Furs 

Runaways                                                       The Killers      

Whiskey In The Jar                                         The Pogues & The Dubliners

Bom Bom                                                        Sam And The Womp

Gangnam Style                                               PSY    

Teenage Icon                                                   The Vaccines              

HT

Hall of Fame feat. will.i.am                            The Script       

I Will Wait                                                      Mumford & Sons       

Can't Take My Eyes Off You                         Andy Williams           

Return Of Django                                           The Upsetters 

After

Barbra Streisand                                             Duck Sauce    

Spectrum(Say My Name)Calvin Harris RemixFlorence + The Machine

City Shirts On Tour

 Send in your 'Shirts On Tour' pictures of you wearing your Worcester City FC shirt in a foreign land to the web site, remembering to include when and where it was taken and we will add you to our rogues gallery.

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