http://www.thinkblinkwink.com en-gb thinkblinkwink.com 2009-3-18T00:00:00Z thinkblinkwink.com http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#38326 Theyve turned down buskers embraced inventors of easytouse but hardtosell gadgets and now those wiley old foxes on the Dragons Den are willing to invest in Non League Football. Well one of them is and actually already has.For those that dont know about the TV programme the Dragons Den its all about inventors flogging their ideas and looking for investment. Then for those who dont know about Theo Paphitis hes one of the judges willing to offer up cash on the show and more specifically he heads up Rymans who sponsor the Isthmian League.Speaking to Theo earlier this week he says Non League is ripe for the picking we are pleased with our sponsorship and long may non league prosper. More importantly in a week that has seen Weymouth flounder he believes his own brand of optimism can turn round our game Thats the great thing about non league it is the test bed where we find young players and its a great place for us to experiment.Perhaps hes got a point but then again this is from the man tha... 2009-2-18T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#34626 952 matches called off and 700 games postponed. So just your average Non League week in January. Chances are if you were off to a lower league football game this week it would have been called off yet chances also are unless you were at Histon v Swansea you wont have heard the referee explain the reasons why. The most important factor for me is players safety said one P. Crossley match official and I think wed all go along with that. Problem being there was a whole lot of people who failed to agree the players were in danger and a week later are probably still arguing over that single decision. Now I wasnt there I didnt have a meteorologist alongside meIm not trained in the laws or rules of the game AND have no idea whether Phil Crossley was right or not but what I would applaud him for is coming out and telling the massed ranks why he made the decision. Can you imagine if that happened every week Theres been plenty of calls lately that my team Chelmsford City... 2009-1-7T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#31389 An open letter to David Triesman Chairman of the FAI once sat on a dusty seat at the back of New Writtle Street Stadium in Chelmsford cradling a cold glass of lemonade thinking life couldnt get much sweeter. My dad had just opened up the ground for the first time that season and Id just finished cleaning every one of the wooden seats in the main stand. It was 1988 and I was just about old enough to get on my bike and make the morning journey to the home of Chelmsford City.Twenty years later and after some hard nomadic years my team are finally back in their home town and by all accounts doing ok in the Blue Square South. There was no need for us to have spent the past 10 years struggling there was no need for 100 fans to dig deep in their pockets to save the club theyd seen ripped apart by property developers and greedy chairmen but still it happened.This week alone Ive heard of at least four top Non League clubs with such a vibrant and important history and stadiums that have seen gen... 2008-10-21T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#28870 A more than fruitful trip to the car boot sale this week resulted in five fairly scruffy but indispensable moments of Chelmsford City history. Yes my commonsisterinlaw as in theyre not married but very much in love has just manoeuvred herself up the Barker pecking order by acquiring five Claret programmes circa the 1980s for my dad. The result Well she might as well have got down on one knee and offered him a golden season ticket. My dad is one of those SPH football fans secret programme horders no matter the era no matter the quality if its got his team on it then its got his name on it. Back in the day of cabbage patch dolls and high pop quiffs the Chelmsford programme was an advert free homage to your average church fete handout. Not to deride either but it was more than a hop skip and jump from the spanky number we put out now and yet my dad has nearly every copy. So given that some clubs barely break even with their programmes would anyone other then my dad care if we went b... 2008-8-28T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#28519 Hes a player he doesnt love you anymore and all he wants to do is score. What would you do with a striker like Dimitar Berbatov If I were Daniel Levy over at White Hart Lane Id have stuck him in the nearest taxi and sent him down to Stevenage Borough in the Blue Square Premier for a spell up front with the big boys. Much in the same way Manchester United became everything Spurs wanted to avoid theres a club down the road from me where rumour has it theyre so loathed to let a player go to a rival team theyve farmed him off to a side near where he lives and upped his wages. To me its bench warming gone mad and all this happening not in the Premier League but in Non League Football. Next thing you know the likes of Mr Abramovich will be digging into his pocket to create his own grassroots football team to play every other footballing star who he doesnt want to turn out for United. Wed have Messi and Ronaldinho lining up for Chelsea Red Star against Witham Tow... 2008-8-20T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#28249 Arsene Wenger has it Sir Alex Ferguson can pass it on when he wants and Kevin Keegans yet to discover if he can get rid of it by the end of the year. Far from some highly infectious disease what all three bastions of the Premier League have in common is for the moment a job. Now I joked with a couple of out of work managers the other day that they were like those odd balls you find turning up to any funeral waiting to jump in their grave. Their belief and Im inclined to agree is that come September there will be plenty of fresh graves in the world of football with at least four prime jobs up for grabs and their names top of the list. Now while this may seem a little harsh what they showed me is how fragile the position of Manager is. I have very different expectations to most for the new season Id like to see a decent cup run it would be great to get in the playoffs but given I was brought up on the doom and gloom supping of my father e... 2008-8-13T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#27654 I dont think the FA will ever be in a position to say when a club gets into financial difficulty well bail it out that from Lord Triesman the Chairman of the Football Association this week who told me hes not keen on The FA becoming a banker of last resort.Ok so the countrys governing football body cant and perhaps shouldnt provide the cash for clubs when the barrel has been scraped but between you me and the goalpost who IS there to helpWere just weeks away from another season which we should greet with a fanfare pomp and ceremony but I have to admit theres a little bit of me feeling like the first day of school whoa Look at that big scary building and whos going to hold my handI know one such side at the moment lets call them Tin Whistle FC apologies to any team actually called that great name by the way but any coincidence is just that. So this Tin Whistle FC are just about to embark on a season where by all accounts theyre trying to buy themselves out of their league an entirely n... 2008-7-30T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#26220 Weve got this whizzy thing at work that allows you to search all the papers in all the world for absolutely anything. Its called the internet. Have you heard of it Now while I think this concept will never catch on it did allow me to find the following phrase embedded in one of our nationals. When describing the performance of Italys Luca Toni one broadsheet commented A nonleague striker appeared to have occupied his body one night in the Italian team hotel.Imagine my surprise. Is this really the same abject performance I watched I mean likening him to a nonleague striker would suggest he was halfway decent. Right No Ah I see they were trying to be ironic suggesting nonleague was the lowest of the low.Isnt that like suggesting Mr Top designers latest couture has an air of the discount shop about it Im sure the lessexpensive brand would take exception and develop a well mannered law suit as a repost. They are after all a family favourite where cost doesnt necessarily mean compromiseSo ... 2008-6-29T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#23922 2008-5-7T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#23923 Impending credit crunch in need of a profound and fundemental change and just a matter of months to turn it around before theres unrest in the masses. Gordon Brown and Non League football one and the same right Theres a real sense at grassroots level that this summer is a key turning point for both politics and our beautiful game.As the FA launch their vision for the next four years this weekend there are two key matches at the home of football two games that show theres never been a greater gap between the top and bottom of our game. As Ebbsfleet and Torquay revel in a fairly decent level of riches available to the National game through the FA Trophy Mick Chapman boss at Lowestoft prepares to take his side into the FA Vase knowing although getting to Wembley is like a dream the pinnacle of everything. On the flip side however leading up to the final you dont make much for a national competition its not that great and the FA needs to put a bit more money for sides like us.As Mick point... 2008-5-7T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#20852 One of the most important things my Granny ever taught me apart from always having a clean hankie and NOT eating in the street was to live within your means. If you could afford a to buy Roller go ahead if not opt for the bus. Porthleven FC seem to be very much like my Granny. Theyve decided not to go for promotion to the Premier Division of the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League this season preferring for the moment to stay put. The reason Theyve taken the view to protect what theyve got knowing travelling and extra costs associated with a step up would be a step too far. My Granny would be pleased. What would happen if we all took the frugal Porthleven approach before deciding on promotion At the end of this month clubs up and down the country will have scrabbled around to get their grounds up to scratch some overspending many dependent on volunteers. Theyve got the ground but do they have the resources to support a move up the pyramid Is there a fan base big enough for a leve... 2008-3-3T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#20853 If youre ever passing Kettering is not a phrase Id normally identify with. It used to be Id been a couple of times to the stadium with the glittering Ks and Es but not of late. However Ive a strange sensation that I could soon be drawn to it even compelled to visit. The Poppies you see have gone and got themselves their very own shop slap bang in the centre of town. Now Im not saying the Newlands Centre is Rodeo Drive nor at the other end is it Poundstretcher incarnate but the position of the club as a shop in the heart of Kettering is for me pretty much a big old leap for Non League. There was talk mooted over a pint or two Im sure that Chelmsford City FC might make an ambitious leap into the centre of town with a pub we already have a concession in a shop on the bastion of shopping experiences that is Moulsham Street Chelmsford but for a club outside of the Football League such as Kettering to take such a commercial leap is a beautiful thing. Im not sure it will work on club mer... 2008-2-21T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#19586 I wouldnt like any team to implode. I remember some eager Dagenham and Redbridge fans telling me theyd won promotion to the football league in February last year only to endure a nervous sweaty March before the job was eventually done in April. So imagine my surprise when my Dad normally the harbinger of doom pronounced hes thinking about getting a Championship tshirt madeup. Fate has well and truly been tempted. Its not just my team Chelmsford City who are stealing a march on the Non League pyramid and prompting rash trips to the tshirt printers. A quick look around and youll find the likes of Witton Albion Merstham Tiptree and Atherstone Town all thumping their way around 10 points clear in their respective leagues. So have they started breaking out the bubbly Have they eck. After yet another set of fixtures had been rained off last year there was a suggestion mooted and to be fair most years this happens that we do away with football in the months of January and February. Now ho... 2008-2-5T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#19298 Brazil Pele world cup winners sexy football the English invented it the Brazilians perfected it. Theres a lot weve got to thank the South Americans for when it comes to the development of the game we now call football but how about slipping the future of Non League onto that listI had an email the other day about how to protect grassroots football clubs from going under. The suggestion Follow the Brazilian method of making sure all football clubs are just that clubs. Create a membership with fees a brand a world outside of the four corners of the pitch where supporters feel like they belong to a collective. Seems like its not such a far fetched idea I mean Brazil has plenty of things Id like to adopt the weather a coastline of over 7367 kilometres but also plenty of things Im not too keen on low minimum wage and the fifth highest number of reptiles Im not good with snakes so perhaps theyve got it right with their footballIt seems my correspondent is not alone and the Brazilian approach... 2008-1-29T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#18958 I think the Bangkok Times said it best a dream come true a prime tie The Bangkok bleedin Times Even Thailands hopping on the Non League band wagon now. The dream come true of course can only relate to one thing Liverpool v Havant and Waterlooville. Whatever the ins and outs of the TV scheduling thats rattled about this tie the truth is the publicity has been immense. Theyre all at it I even hear the Belfast Argus is claiming one of the Hawks as their own. Next thing you know the whole team will be given the freedom of some village in Papua New Guinea. Now while Im happy for the good folk at H amp W every year they seem to be turning football on its head I have to admit theres a little part of me thats slightly miffed. Its like this. Aha circa 1985. See I thought I was the only one to discover the new super group from Norway. As a 5 year old kid I wanted to be decked out in Morten Harket although I now realise how vaguely strange that sounds and made my mum buy me a tape of th... 2008-1-22T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#18724 You know the noise men make when they see a ball fly through a crowd of players and land smack bang in the wedding tackle Now Im not one to name drop but I was sitting talking to Dave Anderson former St Albans and AFC Wimbledon boss Willie Wordsworth former Poet and Non League football pundit and Howard Krais Wealdstone Chairman the other day when Howard announced Wealdstone had been nomadic for nearly 20 years. Ooowsh was kind of the sound made by the two men present and I must admit from me. None of us thought it had been quite that long. Shame we had to admit it live on the radio. How can any side whatever the ins and outs of it survive without their own ground for two decades What has or hasnt happened to these teams is of course a matter for conjecture. But what we do agree on is that up and down the country our Non League football grounds are being bought up demolished and all too often the clubs are left with nothing. Take a quick tot up and how many ... 2008-1-16T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#18499 This week was a good week to get divorced. Apparently the first working day of the year is the busiest day of the year for filing for in the immortal words of Dolly PartonTammy Wynette d.i.v.o.r.c.e. Which given the stress of Christmas tantamount to births deaths and marriages is just about what youd expect.And it seems like this yearmore than mosttheres an epidemic of PartonsWynettes. The case of Dave Anderson given the boot at St Albans onNewYears day. Or hows about Welling United parting company with their playermanager Neil Smith a week later due to well a lack of resultsYou can see why it happens. In justfivemonths you go through extreme highs lows and plenty of shouting but is it acceptable when youve had enough to just give the manager the love chuckerIncreasinglyit seems easier to get rid of the gaffer rather than ride out the storm. Welling fans though might argue just five wins in twentyfour league matches was enough of a storm to ride.But how would it be different if we appl... 2008-1-11T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#18498 Happy New Year...Right. Its January 2008 which apparently means were now officially allowed to panic over the preparations or lack thereof for the 2012 Olympics. Once Beijing is done and dusted this summer in the eyes of the world its our problem to sort out the worlds greatest sporting competition.Fear not Gordon Ken et al. Non Leagues here to help.In May 1906 Baron de Coubertin the man behind the modern Olympiad got together a bunch of IOC members and artists who decided to organise artistic competitions at the Olympics. Yes come 1928 even Town Planning was deemed an Olympic sport perhaps we could do with that now. There was a sculpture class writing and one of the stars was Luxembourg painter Jean Jacoby who won two gold medals in 1924 and 1928.So this is what we need for 2012 a bit of culture.Step forward exhibit A your grassroots footballer.Take a listen or watch back to any of the FA Cup commentaries featuring Non League minnows and theres always someone banging on about a painte... 2008-1-1T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#17781 Please sir I want less Christmas drudgery and more thigh slapping crackers.. like Heybridge Swifts the return of the fallen heroes the remake part deux.Christmas is about the familiar but this Christmas lets shake it up a bit. Radical I know but how about when 3pm swings by on the 25ththe Queen thanks the nation and ends with the words now on BBCOne something to stir the heart and bond our great Isle She should come to me more often a rerun of the 1966 World Cup final in full Philip they even play our songWhat the big cheese TV execs would say lord only knows theyve already pencilled in Eastenders Part 1 for Christmas Day the car lot blows up Eastenders Part 2 for BoxingDay Rowly comes back from the dead and makes off withWellard and thats not forgetting part 3 on the 27thhes not your father we didnt know who your father was. Scrap it. Burn it. Recycle it.Heres what I propose 25th 1966 rereun26th Non League actionlive from Scraley Road the home of Heybridge Swifts27tha rerun of the Ch... 2007-12-24T00:00:00Z http://www.thinkblinkwink.com/page4.htm#17770 I remember my first and only interview with Tony Roberts Dagenham and Redbridge Goalkeeper it was on the pitch at the now renamed London Borough of Barking amp Dagenham Stadium about five bubbly moments after theyd gone and won promotion to the Football League. He shook my hand which I remember thinking was odd A because Id never shaken the hand of someone with such a large glove on and B wasnt this the hand which could and should have ended his careerJust nine years before and Tony had been forced to quit football a knuckle injury meaning an insurance payout and with it a pledge of allegiance to never playing professional football again. The Football League and Insurance companys loss the world of grassroots gain.As we now know Tony came back striking a deal to settle his payout but what worries me is how long before a life in fulltime conference football is deemed professional and also off the menuOf course there will be other ways around it. Only this week a loophole in his compensa... 2007-12-23T00:00:00Z