Dave Bilbrough

Will be appearing at St Matthew's church, East Park Way, Wolverhampton on 6 March. For Tickets Contact: Graham & Maureen Archer Tel: 01902 686237 or email: gandmarcher@blueyonder.co.uk

January 2010 - The month that barely was

Another deeply frustrating day for parks' football yesterday as we saw another complete freeze-out. We had the potential to play eighty-five games in January and just seven were completed in this frost-bound month. It has snowed a bit here over night and there's a hard frost, so I'm doubtful if my lad's game will go ahead a bit later. He has played once since 22 November.

Kwesi from Inter asked if it was a record. Well I'm not sure how to quantify the records, but 2000/1 was at least as bad when we had a long spell of heavy rain. I was the fixtures secretary that season and I know that we had well over 100 games called off. The season was completed on 19 May with Chawn Hill winning the league with a 4-1 over second placed Walsall Olympic. They won't win the league or even Division Two this season but they had a good day yesterday beating St Thomas' yesterday 7-1, with Jamie Sutton scoring a double hat-trick. Kevin Walters scored the other from the penalty spot.

I sincerely hope that we get a full programme under way next week, particularly as it's the League Cup semi-finals. Heavy snow was forecast for Wednesday but that has now changed to heavy rain for mid-week. At present, we are still looking at a 1 May finish, with just Clarendon running out of Saturdays. But even they will be able to play all their games on Saturday mornings if they get knocked out of the Cup next week. The April is still looking fairly sparse but I suspect that we will be busy. The secondary cup is looking less and less likely the longer this goes on. But we will continue to monitor the situation. The clubs with the fewest games to play: Chawn, Renewal etc. have seven matches left by my calculation. That should mean that they will still be engaged pretty much through March. I've had three fairly strong enquiries from clubs looking to join next season, so perhaps there'll be opportunities to play friendlies for those sides who have run out of games.

Saturday Review

Well, at last we have had some football played: One or two shocks and some vital points picked up elsewhere.

Division One

Clarendon 1 City Church 0

Tommy Woodward reports: A well earned win today over a very good City Church. A one goal advantage over any team is never definate, but against a team like City, you're asking for trouble. We had a goal ruled out early on due to a foul but we think the ref had got it wrong, so when Pablo won a penalty and converted it we felt we had taken a deserved lead. We should have scored a couple more with the City keeper stopping two one on ones from Pablo and Jason Greene hitting both posts. City had their chances but a bit of bad luck and some great defending gave us a win and a clean sheet. J Garwood had an excellent game along with Dan Atkins and the City Keeper. The returning Matt Williams and Pablo made a difference and some great saves from Bigger helped us along our way. Also Laurie Cunningham seemed to play a part in anything positive that Clarendon produced. St Matt's next. Hopefully another win.

Martin Ogbourn adds: Today's return fixture between Clarendon and City was very different to the 11-goal thriller earlier in the season, which City edged in a more intense affair. Both teams were understandably rusty today, although Clarendon created the greater threat, and enjoyed better possession to deservedly take the three points. However, we certainly played our part and had chances (especially in the first half) to take something from a tight game. Clarendon were the quicker team out of the blocks, and took an early lead through a penalty after a tussle in the box. Once City settled into the game it became an even, competitive half of football with wayward finishing and good saves from both sides keeping the score close.

The half time whistle came at the wrong time for City as we were enjoying our best phase of the match with some improved passing and movement. Although neither team looked 100% City faded more quickly in the second half and the extended Christmas break and lack of match fitness took its toll! City still had opportunities and could have snatched an equaliser towards the end, but City were indebted to Chris Chattaway for some quality goalkeeping to keep City in the game until the final whislte. The positive thing from our viewpoint was that we continued to battle hard and showed good team spirit. John Shep, Steve Bailey and Andrew Thomas were notable for their battling qualities, and Chris Chattaway was the City man-of-the-match. City now have to re-group for next week's game, and the Cup quarter final.

Wolverhampton and Perton Churches 4 St Thomas Aldridge 1

A great win and three points for Wolves sees them move up the table to sixth spot and within touching distance of those clubs nestled behind the leading two. They have already amassed seventeen points from ten matches, which is less than halfway through the season. With just one Saturday left in January and twelve games to play, I can't see that we'll have time for a secondary competition but that decision will be made in due course.

For St Thomas, they will be reflecting on another disappointing result and the prospect of dropping down a division if they cannot turn things around soon.

Alex Russon says: If football matches lasted 85 minutes, we'd have walked away from here with a creditable 1-1 draw. But they don't, so we didn't. With St T's kicking uphill second half, the legs went with only 5 minutes to go and Wolverhampton converted three late chances to give a somewhat harsh final scoreline of 4-1.

A good result had looked likely until then thanks to some sound defending and a spirited attitude, indeed we went in one up at half-time after a cunning Cashmore pass sent Molloy haring towards the corner flag, his cross was met by Hadden who tested the keeper and as Buller rushed in to convert the rebound, their left back beat him to it and, demanding the glory himself, muffed his attempt to guide the ball the other side of the post for a corner and instead slammed the ball into the back of his own net. Quality.

The equaliser came after 65 minutes, I won't pretend I saw it, think I was texting my wife to ask if we could have chips for tea. From this point on it was end to end with both sides spurning chances, for St T's Buller blasted over the bar from close range and Molloy pushed a shot inches wide after some slick passing gifted him the chance. Three late goals were scored on the break with the last one by Tom Baugh who's a double for an actor in that episode of Morse where his German mother turns out to be the killer, but I digress.

In conclusion, it is with regret that I announce internal disciplinary action is to be taken against our captain Dan Simmonds. He is to be charged with gross misconduct for missing our next two fixtures to attend his wedding and subsequent honeymoon, a breathtaking derliction of duty which cannot be tolerated.

Tom Baugh (who himself runs a lookalike page on W&P's web site) adds: Finally, a game of football and a decent one at that. There were more than a few players that looked like they’d overdone it on the Christmas turkey and I think the run-out did most of us the world of good.

St. Thomas took the lead on the stroke of half-time, Uncle Rich (Adey Boothroyd) spilling a cross and Stevie inexplicably smashing the ball into his own net from the attempted goal-line clearance. But our right-back soon redeemed himself by heading home a corner to level things up midway through the second period; deservedly so too after a long spell of pressure from Wolves. Gaz Owen then stabbed the ball into an empty net to give us the lead, after Olly had drawn the keeper from his line. Then a similar situation allowed Gazza to bag his second and secure the win, this time Frenchie doing the good work in the build-up.

The game was pretty much over as a contest by the time I stroked home the fourth and it probably distorted the scoreline unfairly in what was a hard fought encounter. St. Thomas aren’t a bad side by any means, but unfortunately, you don’t have to be a bad side to get relegated from Division One. I expect another tough match in the return fixture.

Division Two

EK Corinthia 0 Rowley College 1

EK miss out on the opportunity to retake top spot from Champions with a 1-0 defeat to a rejuvenated Rowley College. Perhaps 2010 will be better for them than their annus horribilis, 2009. Pete Bennett says: EK are a good side and we had to work hard to beat them but I think we did enough to deserve it. We were picking from a bare eleven today (while phoning to get Sammy Nelson out of bed to be twelfth) but they were a good eleven and so they proved.

Everybody did their job today but centre half Matt Stanton must be singled out for a faultless display. This was one reason why, despite great attacking intent from EK, our keeper Lee Roberts had only one real save to make (though it was a cracker preventing a certain goal). We on the other hand played good football up the hill first half and only unselfishness in front of goal and an inexplicable miss from Nathan Hylton prevented us from scoring.

With Mark Southall back in the centre and Christie McKenzie marauding around up front we always fancied it. Harvey, Wilkins and McIvor worked tirelessly while Joe, Scotty and Chrissy Staien protected the back. The problem was: we were tiring and they weren’t. Then just after I’d swapped Nelson for Harvey we got the breakthrough. Hylton teased their defenders down the left and centred for McKenzie to fire home on the turn. Thereafter they built pressure with the threat they’d come back and steal it like they did at Lion Farm. Thankfully we held on for a good result and a welcome clean sheet.

Lighthouse Lions 5 Dynamo Kingswinford 1

Lighthouse went some way to allay any thoughts of relelgation that may have existed with a fairly hearty score line against a DK side surely doomed for life in Division Three. Lighthouse will probably need another three or four points to make sure but with the on-fire Adam Elcock in their ranks, I'm sure those points will appear in due course.

Darren Cartwright says: A new year, a new home. Because of the problems with changing facilities we have now moved to Saltley Leisure Centre, our lads were not fazed by this and we kicked off with both sides getting back to the swing of things after a long lay off.

The first half was very competitive with few chances, and ended 0 - 0. The second half we moved things round a bit and just after the restart Adam Elcock got a neat header after a cross from Morris Constable. Lighthouse began to to get a grip on the game and was rewarded after 64 min with a another goal from Adam Elcock after a cross from Gary Smith. Lighthouse kept up the pressure with good passing from wing to wing, and on 71 min Carl Jones ran down the left and crossed a low ball into the six yard box which resulted in an own goal by Dynamo. On 78 min a one two by Adam Elcock and James Doris resulted in James getting the 4th Goal. Dynamo turned up a gear and did more pressing which kept our defenders on their toes, a lack of concentration left us with two defenders at the back and Dynamo scored just inside our box.

Then with 3 min to go James Doris was fouled just outside the area, up stepped Adam Elcock and took a fine direct free kick and hit the back of the net to get his hat tick.

Today's game was played in a great spirit, thanks to Dynamo for making it a good game. All the best to them for the rest of the season.

Chawn Hill Church 3 Bournbrook Athletic 3

Division Three has a real 'top and bottom' split look to it with a five point gap opening up between sixth and seventh place. I think that both sides could have done with a win yesterday but there's quite a way to go yet.

Jon Earp says: Bournbrook returned to action with a 3-3 draw against Chawn. In the first twenty minutes, we looked great and shot into a 3-0 lead with Max Tully running the show with the first goal and then two own goals from Chawn. At this point I never felt that three goals would be enough, without a game since the end of November we hit the wall hard and let Chawn back in.

Chawn will feel the result is two points lost, rather than a point gained as they played the better football and had the better chances throughout the game. But it was a good run out for us and a important result after a long break.

Division Three

Rockmount United 1 DC Dynamos 4

DC go top after a solid looking result against fellow promotion hopefuls, Rockmount United. They are looking almost certain to progress to Division Two next season: With nine league matches left and a Cup quarter-final to look forward to against Common Ground, things are looking bright for DC. I think they could afford to lose three league games and still easily finish in the top three. But that is not their goal: The Division Three title and a Cup final appearance is more like their target.

Mark Crouch reports on the game: A cold Saturday morning saw our kick off delayed by 45 mins as the groundsman marked out the pitch so we could get it on. This was a match we had to win to avenge our only loss of the season to a Rockmount team we had never beaten before. It looked like it could be a long and thankless task as yet again DC did their old trick of going a goal behind almost straight away. We were yet again caught ball watching as their player controlled the ball well on his chest and slotted it comfortably away. 1-0 Rockmount. Rockmount were running through at will for the first 10 minutes as DC struggled to wake up. Some great last ditch tackles from Steve, Rich, Jon and Bluey stopped us going further behind and our keeper Josh Burford who was outstanding. After about 20 minutes a lovely through ball from Ben Russell was latched onto by Adam Bradshaw who ran on rounded the keeper and slotted home for the equaliser. Rockmount were reduced to 10 men as the zero tolerance for swearing kicked in again. It was pretty much end to end stuff for the remainder of the first half but it was apparent for everyone to see that it was DC who were now in the ascendancy taking adavantage of the extra man.

1-1 Half time

Second half and a swift substitution saw Chris Gee come on and this seemed to give DC the edge as Rockmount were clearly unnerved by his presence. A great through ball from Jon Murphy saw James Cole burst down the left and fire in a wonderful goal for DC to take the lead. It was a speculative cross/shot but it nestled in the top left hand corner and the Rockmount players' heads dropped. Soon it was 3-1 and some great play down the left again saw the ball ping pong inside the penalty area and the ball fell to the feet of Dean Cole who had not long come on and he cooly slotted it home for a well deserved goal. 10 Mins later it was all over as their player handled inside the area and James Cole stepped up and tucked it away beautifully although their keeper was unfortunate as he did get his finger tips to it.

Another wonderful team performance and a MASSIVE win to take us back to the top. Players of note James Cole, Steve Burford, Paul Blewitt and Josh Burford who was playing in goal for us today and was different class but Man of the Match for sheer work-rate and effort was Ben Russell (what an engine). All Nations next and then the Cup......League and Cup Double????? I am beginning to realise anything is possible when you truly believe.

Zion City 8 Living Hope Church 2

A big win for Zion in which Leon Brown scored a double hat-trick. His six goals took his tally to ten, the first time a player from this club has managed to achieve double figures. The result leaves Living Hope anchored to the bottom of the league.

Lighthouse Lions - New Home Venue

Sadly, the Norman Chamberlain facilities have become unusable, so Lighthouse Lions have moved to Saltley Leisure Centre, Broadway Avenue, B9 5YD.

Weather

Much warmer weather is forecast for this week, however heavy snow is currently on the cards for Wednesday. The temperatures are generally predicted to be well above freezing, so I would anticipate the decision to play will be passed back to the normal methods, i.e. the referee or local groundmens. There were teams playing on the local parks that I drove past today, so let's hope we get some games played, otherwise you'll all be still playing in May if it goes on much longer.

Fixture Changes

The latest round of fixture changes have been uploaded onto the site. DC Dynamos vs Junction Ten Village is now scheduled for 10 April which could be the Division Three title decider but there's plenty of water to go under the bridge before then. Let's hope we see a bit of action this week.

DC Need Players

DC Dynamos are on the look out for a few more players and a keeper as our squad has become somewhat depleted of late. Please call Mark Crouch on 07505008912.

ALL GAMES OFF THIS SATURDAY

The Management Committee had an electronic discussion today and by a majority of 6-1 decided to cancel all the games for this week-end. I think it's probably the right decision, as even if the snow disappears and the pitches thaw out, the ground is still going to be very damp and probably unplayable.

If you are a club secretary, please contact your referee to advise them of the decision.

Fixtures

Shawn's just emailed me the latest list of rescheduled matches which I have uploaded to the fixtures pages. There are twenty-five alterations, so please have a look through yours to double check for errors. If you spot anything, please let us know as soon as possible.

Whilst things have changed for the worst on the weather forecasts, we are still looking at positive temperatures. It's looking grim for tomorrow (Wednesday) though, with heavy snow predicted. It was only light snow on Monday and I thought it was the worst yet.

Weather

I have just had a look at the BBC weather page and they are forecasting +4 degrees on Friday, all day and night. Yes, plus four!

There's a chance that we may get a game of football or two on Saturday. I will add that pitches are usually quite soggy after prolonged snow, so don't get too hopeful just yet.

Champions Church

This week sees the opening of the brand new 850 seater Champions Church, it's been a dream that this day would come along and after nearly 20 years of putting complete trust in God next week sees the dream become reality. It's an event that we want no one to miss out on so would be great to see anybody associated with the League whether you be a Christian, non believer or someone who is just curious. (Here is a video telling you all about it) http://championschurch.org.uk/govideo.html

The first service is with Pastor Matthew Barnett from the dream centre in Los Angeles on Thursday 14th January at 7pm.

The second service also with Pastor Matthew again on Friday 15th January at 7pm.

The third service being a ticketed event with London Community Gospel Choir (as seen performing at 2008 FA cup Final), adults tickets £10, children £6 on Saturday 16th January at 7pm.

And lastly the fourth service on Sunday 17th January at 11am with our very own, Pastor Mark Burchell.

You can find us on Cinder Bank (A459), Netherton, DY2 9BG just off the Dudley Bypass.

For any more details visit www.championschurch.org.uk or contact the church offices on 01384 457923.

ALL GAMES OFF THIS SATURDAY

The Committee have had an on-line email discussion and have concluded that it is almost certain that the fixtures this week-end would not go ahead due to the adverse weather conditions. A hard frost has now been followed by a blanket of snow that is unlikely to thaw by Saturday and then there's the frozen ground to consider. Temperatures are forecast to remain below zero for at least until Saturday, so we have taken the decision to call all fixtures off now.

Club Secretaries please inform your referees as soon as possible.

This Saturday

It's not looking good for this Saturday again, with frost forecast for the whole week. Minus two maximum on Saturday says the BBC.

Christmas Review and Predictions

Tin hat at the ready and bunker down. Once I press the upload button, I'm going into hiding until spring. Good luck to you all for the second half of the season, when it happens! It looks like we are going to have a fascinating run-in with all three divisions wide open:

Ed's Mid-Season Predictions 2009/10

St John's Church

St John's Church FC are still after a new manager. If anyone is interested, please call Stu Rogers on 07800 518 511. I've heard that Gary Megson is free Stu.

Happy New Year

A Happy New Year to everyone in WMCFL and to those looking in too. No football again this week with a complete freeze strangling all our games. It's not looking much better this coming week either with the BBC five day forecast currently suggesting a hard frost right up until Thursday with temperatures well below freezing every night. We'll probably get a night dumping of snow when the cold weather finally breaks.

Ed's Pre-Season Predictions

I've been gradually writing my predictions over the past few weeks, taking note of what player changes I've heard about and factoring friendly results. I managed to finish them last week and was ready to publish and then we had a raft of friendly results and the Kevin Kovacs trophy.

I'll be honest, I thought St Mary's were going to be turned over by Clarendon yesterday. I thought City would start with a bang but have not turned in any results (that I know of) pre-season. I thought Dynamo would struggle this year, basing my rationale on their lack of goals; then I hear Chris Sweetmore is back and Neil Hambly played for them yesterday.

EK seemed to be getting pounded pre-season, then they beat Division One ZIon Athletic, albeit narrowly yesterday. I hear that St John's were heavily beaten yesterday too. So, most of what I have written appears to have been blown out of the water. I was going to revamp the lot, then I thought 'forget it, I'll put the page up anyway'.

So, by popular appeal, you can click here to read how I think everyone's going to do.

Ed's Pre-Season Predictions 2009/10