WRITTEN IN THE STARS

Printed in the Evo-stik League Southern Division One Central game v Aylesbury Saturday 13th August 2011. Drew 0-0 in front of 306 people.

Surely its written in the stars that this is the season Slough Town win the league and begin the next one in their fantastic new ground back in Slough as champions? Well I bloody hope so. As we scrape along the barrel of the football pyramid I feel we have done our time now. Thank you all the small towns and villages I would have never visited, but it’s time to move on. Mind you, there’s always one club who wants to spoil the party, one money bags upstart and this time it’s St.Neots FC. Their chairman has already boasted “I see no reason why we won’t win the Southern League Division One Central.” Still at least St.Neots has a decent ground with supporters and it has already been penciled in as the annual Rebels away weekend in March.

You can fit the population of St Neots into Slough 4 times , in fact you can probably fit the combined populations of all the clubs in our league into Slough! Big fish in small pond? Sour grapes? Arrogance? Perhaps, but I’ve had enough of one man and his dog. Thankfully our fairy Godchairman Steve Easterbrook with lots of dedicated supporters has helped kick the club back to life and surely it can’t be long before we are back in the Premiership (Ryman or Southern Premiership that is).

Reading our forum I can only conclude that someone has dropped LSD into the Thames Valley water supply. A few friendlies and some people have worked themselves into a frothing internet frenzy of madness.

I can’t comment on new or old signings cos I didn’t bother with any friendlies apart from the Windsor one and that’s 90 minutes of my life I can’t ever get back. I forgot what fun Windsor can be by the castle with tourists enjoying the British summer by poking my eyes out with their oversized anti social umbrellas while taking pictures of paving stones, phone boxes and dog turds. Just what is it with people who think its ok to hog the whole pavement with their damn umbrellas, that force you into the road and drip the rain onto passers by? Wear a bloody hat. And I couldn’t even find Windsor and Eton station it’s been so swamped by shops. Surprise they haven’t shoved some on the railway tracks.

As for a new club. Well they’ve ditched the Eton along with all the money they owe to everyone and started again at the Combined Counties Premier League. There seems to be a lot of the same players, managers and a clubhouse sporting it’s traditional plastic cups over the pumps informing you that that beer is off today. The backdrop to Windsors ground is spectacular but I don’t miss going there, although with the players they’ve got you can see them gaining promotion at the first shout.  

In Slough’s league there are some grounds I’ve never been before – newcomers Chalfont St Peter and Chertsey and of course Saint Newts. And some like AFC Hayes that I have visited enough to know that I don’t really fancy going back anytime soon.

So there will be beers, tears, some gut churning moments - usually because I’ve sampled some undercooked chips. Some matches your glad you were at, some bores, some games where it feels more like a chore, some shivering on the terraces, some frozen pitches. But let’s hope at the end of it we take one giant step up the footballing ladder.

The Evo-stik (Adhesives and Sealants) Southern League Division One Central 2011/12 season. Bring it on!