Worcester Source Three Points. Weymouth defeated

Worcester City FC v Weymouth FC
Conference South, 23 January 2010.

About this time 4 years ago 4 Bristol based Weymouth fans set off to Carshalton on their way to watch 'The Terras' on their way Conference South title. 5 years later 87 managers, 10 chairman, 976 players, 750000 of debt (and rising), 1 cock of a property developing ex Chairman, 1 attempted takeover by a Jeremy Kyle addicted bankrupt, the obligatory 'mysterious break in', a furore caused by a stabbed inflatable dolphin and we're back in that league again and struggling to stay in it.

This time there is only one of the Bristol exiles on the journey, me. With reasons given ranging in acceptance from: having had a child recently (Young Duncan), being on the other side of the world (Ed(d)) and having man flu (poor form Young Le(e)). So I make my own way to Worcester in this must win relegation six pointer.

The week had been another of the many tumultuous weeks that make up Weymouths recent history, with the fans favourite manager scandalously sacked in very questionable circumstances by the latest Chairman and his replacement having his job offer removed after his car broke down and he couldn't get to the club. Despite all this there is still something special about waking up and knowing I'll soon be watching the team I've supported for more than 20 years and seeing some non league football after 2 recent forays into the tired world of professional football.

Worcesters ground is a fantastic old non league ground, complete with plenty of history in the building and packed full of characters inside. I can only guess why qualifications you need to be a steward at Worcester, job description criteria seem to include-being obese, having a hairstyle requiring a whole tub of gel and a general appearance of being absolutely no use should something ever kick off. Which it won't, it's non league football and it's endless casts of misfits (Hello!) is what makes it all the more hilarious.

A very suspicious looking man near a time piece with no hand.

Weymouth Ultras. Good effort.

Pre match entertainment consists of watching the Weymouth subs warm up by taking pot shots at the goal. All the criteria for a comedy moment allign beautifully as a fat ginger kids eating chips decides to stand just to the left of the the goal. The laughter gods have their way and the inevitable 'football in ginger face' occurs, to much wincing and stifled laughter all round. As kick off approaches the tannoy announcer whips the home crowd up to nothing resembling fever pitch, "Are there any Worcester fans here?" he mumbles over the tannoy and receives a weiry response from the home crowd. Unpreterbed he follows this up with some cheeky banter, pearls of wisdom include " the referee is Mr Rathbone and he comes from Moscow, Russia" and "the linesman with the yellow flag is Mr Homer and he drives a Skoda". Good stuff and the fact he seems to be playing Now 27 with classic tunes from Haddaway, 2 Unlimited and Cybil meaning this afternoon is off to a fantastic start.

And it gets better, Weymouth are dominant and score after seven minutes.


Then it gets worse, as it often does as a Weymouth fan. Worcester start to control the midfield and their typical non league clogger centre halves start to look like they'd seen a football before. Just before half time they equalise and even a half time burst of The Outhere Brothers seminal 1995 classic Boom Boom Boom (Clean Version) can't brighten my mood.

The second half, mah. The usual, we lose. However the spirit of defiance amongst the fans is superb with the name of the recently departed manager Ian Hutchinson sung on repeat for the last 15 minutes, much to the ire of chief in our downfall, CEO Gary Calder, who sits impassively on the bench (!) plotting his next evil scheme. The Worcester fans look bemused at our singing as they pass us on the way out, but we are proud supporters and we want those in charge to know that their actions are wrong, that we still care about the club and we're not going to make it easy for them. Whether they'll listen, or care I very much doubt but it gives me hope that all is not lost. There is still fight in the supporters get our club back from the no goodniks who continue to exploit the club for their own gain.

So 4 hours on a train, £30 spent and a 3-1 defeat in a six pointer, was it worth it. Of course. Whether it's battling for promotion to the (overrated) promised land of the Conference or battling the avoid the drop to the (what the fuck is Zamaretto) Zamaretto league I'll be there, let's hope others aren't. Up the Terras.





PS - No fat ginger kids suffered any lasting damage in the making of this blog post.