15 Shades of Graham

Hopperational Details for the 2011-12 Season
Dates & Venues	From August 2011 to May 2012, 69 games
Result	225 goals at an average of 3.26 goals per game
Competitions	31 different leagues or cup competitions.
Hopping	62 new venues to take the lifetime list to 465 with four triples and one quadruple
Multiples	August Bank Holiday (Sandhurst, Fleet & Kidlington) Boxing Day (Norwich United & King’s Lynn Town) New Year’s Eve (Bloxwich Utd & Studley) Central Midlands League Quadruple, March 2012 (Clifton, Basford Utd, Dronfield Town & Glapwell) Easter Saturday (Maltby Main. Stocksbridge PS & Worsbrough Bridge Athletic, overlapping the NCEL hop) Easter Monday (Bletchley T & Buckingham T)
Maintaining the 92 & the 116	Brighton & Hove Albion
Outside England	Scotland (St Mirren, Glasgow Celtic) and Wales (Bala Town, Aberystwyth Town)

Here are fifteen shades of Graham for the 2011-12 season.  No, I am not doing fifty.
No, I haven't read it, but I am with the zeitgeist innit.  Enjoy.

1 Corby Press On Corby Town 6 Bishop’s Stortford 1 17 August 2011 (Conference North)

Reason Chosen: This was the first competitive game at Corby’s new stadium.

What’s Happened Since? Bishop’s Stortford’s manager Ian Walker, or former England goalkeeper Ian Walker, and/or son of former Norwich City manager Mike Walker (depending on which paper you read) left the club by mutual consent (although again that depended on which paper etc etc) in December.  The club had been placed in the Conference North (where they will be staying again, it would appear) at a very late stage and player recruitment had been tough.  They recovered to finish a creditable tenth.  Meanwhile, Corby Town have been through a takeover – they finished 17th and have just appointed former Northampton Town boss Ian Sampson as manager for next season.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/corby-press-on.html

2 The Joy of Six Shifnal Town 3 Gornal Athletic 4 aet 24 August 2011 (FA Cup)

Reason Chosen: Completing a personal-best run of six FA Cup ties and replays in consecutive days, publishing the world’s first footage of the International Space Station passing over an FA Cup match, and a magnificent game which included an outfield player saving a penalty with his first touch as a stand-in goalkeeper.

What’s Happened Since? Gornal Athletic went out with credit at Kidsgrove in the next round.  I was there, making a contribution to the season’s record for therealfacup.  In the league, these two served up a 4-5 in December as Gornal won their league with a game to spare.  They move up to the step 5 Alliance Midland League next season.  Shifnal Town finished in lower-mid table.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/joy-of-six.html

3 Hooky Hanging On in the Vase Hook Norton 2 Wokingham & Emmbrook 2 aet 11 September 2011 (FA Vase)

Reason Chosen: Non-league venues at their best – great clubhouse, wind-assisted goals, a cricket boundary line across the pitch and cows in the adjacent field chasing after a wayward ball.

What’s Happened Since? Wokingham & Emmbrook won the replay 2-0 but lost at Winslow United in the next round.  Both teams had mid-table finishes in their respective Hellenic leagues.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/hooky-hanging-on-in-vase.html

4 Market Forces Eventually Win Ely City 3 Needham Market 4 aet 20 September 2011 (FA Cup)

Reason Chosen: Match-of-the-season for me.  A gripping cup-tie played in abysmal weather conditions and a credit to everyone concerned.

What’s Happened Since? Needham Market were beaten at home by Nuneaton Town in the next round.  In their leagues, both teams had promotion near-misses.  Ely City finished runners-up behind Wroxham in the Eastern Counties League.  Needham Market reached the play-offs (again) but lost out to Enfield Town in the final.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/market-forces-eventually-win.html

5 GY Reports From GY Great Yarmouth 0 Felixstowe & Walton United 5 24 September 2011 (Eastern Counties Premier)

Reason Chosen: A chance to watch from the oldest stand in continuous use – the main stand at the Wellesley dates from 1892 – and an example of the randomness that often decides my hopping life.  I was here because the New Zealand All Blacks had scored exactly 37 points in their Rugby Union World Cup win over France.

What’s Happened Since? Great Yarmouth did not win another league game until the last day of the season and they will drop to step 6 next year.  Their AGM on 11 June may be “interesting” as they say in the diplomatic corps.  The club are advertising a number of positions ranging from Treasurer to bus driver.  Felixstowe & Walton finished just above the relegation zone.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/gy-reports-from-gy.html

6 Brighton Rocking as Tigers Come for Teatime Brighton & HA 0 Hull City 0 15 October 2011 (Championship)

Reason Chosen: A trip to Brighton’s impressive new home was needed to keep my current lists of 92 (Premier League, Championship, Leagues One & Two) and 116 (same plus Conference National) up to date.

What’s Happened Since? Hull City finished 8th and Brighton 10th.  As I write, the vacant managerial post at the former is being offered to Steve Bruce.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/brighton-rocking-as-tigers-come-for.html

7 Hoops? Aye, They Did It Again Glasgow Celtic 2 Hibernian 1 23 October 2011 (Scottish Premier League)

Reason Chosen: By far the biggest crowd of the season, the biggest stadium and the highest-ranked club.  Hard not to ignore all that history and feel the pressure, expectation and edge that goes with it.

What’s Happened Since? Celtic duly won the title in a season dominated by off-field issues at their city rivals Rangers.  Hibernian escaped relegation by one place and reached the Scottish FA Cup Final where they were thumped by their city rivals, Hearts.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/hoops-aye-they-did-it-again.html

8 Modus Hopper Random on Ice Milton Keynes Lighting 2 Peterborough Phantoms 2 (Milton Keynes win after shootout) 3 December 2011 (English Premier League Ice Hockey)

Reason Chosen: The blog’s first diversion into the crazy world of grown men with sticks trying to kill each other on ice.  Many thanks to the MK Lightning tweeters who picked up the blogpost and reacted with good humour, making this the second most-viewed post of the season.

What’s Happened Since? I am now up to six on the rinkhopping list and the Northern Hemisphere Net Coriolis Force Zamboni Clockwise Rotation Theory remains intact.  MK made the playoffs but lost out to Slough Jets.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/modus-hopper-random-on-ice.html

9 ‘Twas the Day Before Christmas Dorking Wanderers 3 Storrington 2 24 December 2011 (Sussex County League Division 2)

Reason Chosen: A splendid location for a game on the morning of Christmas Eve, providing an insight into the murky world of groundhopping addiction.

What’s Happened Since? Dorking Wanderers and Storrington finished 3rd and 9th respectively.  Box Hill is still there, as are three hoppers waiting for the programme reprint.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/twas-day-before-christmas.html

10 You Have to be a Linnet to Win It King’s Lynn Town 1 Holbeach United 0 26 December 2011 (United Counties Premier)

Reason Chosen: An impressive crowd of 1040 for a 1st v 2nd clash in step 5.

What’s Happened Since? It seemed at the time that King’s Lynn had got a grip on the division after this result.  They were 12 points ahead on Easter Monday but Long Buckby reeled them in with games in hand, and beat them 2-1 at home with two games to go.  When King’s Lynn could only then draw at home to Desborough Town, Long Buckby made no mistake and won the league.  However, there is a happy ending.  King’s Lynn’s record, with 106 points, gets them a promotion after all from the step 5 pool and they join the Northern Premier League Division One South next season.  Holbeach were overtaken by teams with games in hand and finished sixth.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/you-have-to-be-linnet-to-win-it.html

11 Star in the Descendant as Bloxwich Wake Up Bloxwich 3 Continental Star 2 31 December 2011 (Midland Football Combination Premier)

Reason Chosen: The ending - dramatic, controversial.  Star had been two up and cruising.  See if you agree with the referee's decision by viewing the key clip.

What’s Happened Since? Continental Star went on to win the league by four points, and Bloxwich finished seventh.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/star-in-descendant-as-bloxwich-wake-up.html

12 Hertfordshire Mavericks 47 Surrey Storm 62 19 January 2012 (Netball Superleague)

Reason Chosen: My first-ever diversion into the world of top-tier netball.

What’s Happened Since? Both teams made the mid-season split into the top half.  Storm had been second, just behind Northern Thunder.  However, Storm beat Thunder home-and-away in winning all six post-split matches.  These two ended up facing each other in the grand final after relatively easy playoff semi-final wins.  Mavericks lost to Thunder to go out at that stage.  Thunder won the grand final by 2 points.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/storm-over-hertfordshire.html

13 Lions Use Their Escape Claws at Leicester Leicester Riders 75 Milton Keynes Lions 77 21 January 2012 (British Basketball League)

Reason Chosen: Not the first blog diversion into courthopping, in which I have pre-blogging “previous” at any rate, but the most dramatic.  A buzzer-beating three-pointer from Adrien Sturt, captured on film, sealed a magnificent road win for the Lions.

What’s Happened Since? Lions’ season rather ebbed away and they finished outside the playoff positions, a big disappointment for them.  Riders finished strongly, finished the regular season as runners-up  and made it all the way through to the play-off final where they lost to Newcastle Eagles.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/lions-use-their-escape-claws-at.html

14 Police Called to Shootout in Sussex Three Bridges 2 Gresley 2 aet (Gresley win 7-6 on penalties) 28 January 2012 (FA Vase)

Reason Chosen: The first game, a 1-1 draw, had suggested there could be dramatic unfinished business.  The blogpost includes the world’s first simultaneous video coverage of Venus, Uranus, the Moon and a goal.

What’s Happened Since? After all that, Gresley were thumped at St Ives in the next round.  Both teams, however, can look forward to step 4 as they ended the season as champions in their respective leagues.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/police-called-to-shootout-in-sussex.html and for the original game http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/drawing-in-derbyshire.html

15 Hawayday at the Bay Whitley Bay 1 West Auckland Town 2 18 February 2012 (FA Vase)

Reason Chosen: Having been sent on this journey by the roll of a die, this turned out to be a day dominated by hospitality and hospital.  Under normal circumstances, the teabar notice about Bovril supply would have been enough for a day.  I had not expected to witness Whitley Bay’s first defeat in this competition in four seasons, but the drama was astonishing.  I had footage of a controversial tackle that was over half-an-hour earlier than the consequent red card, delivered when the ambulance had left the pitch.  The three goals in the game were late, later and unbelievably late.  This became the most viewed Modus Hopper Random Blogpost of all time.

What’s Happened Since? I originally published the post with Howayday in the title, but was saved from further embarrassment by prompt instruction in north-eastern vowels by several friendly correspondents.  There really should be a local version of Pygmalion, if you ask me.  (e.g “the rain in the Tyne falls mainly down the drain”)  In following rounds, West Auckland disposed of Bournemouth Poppies and Herne Bay to reach the final at Wembley, where they were runners-up to Dunston UTS.  In their very competitive league, West Auckland also finished second (to Spennymoor Town) and Whitley Bay ended up sixth.

Read and watch more at: http://modushopperrandom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/hawayday-at-bay.html

Nearly got into the fifteen (you can pick these from the tag cloud on the right):

• Non-League Day 2011 at Stourport Swifts
• Good wins for Witham Town (in the league) and AFC Totton (in the FA Cup)
• Freezing all known appendages at Curzon Ashton
• My Three-Hop Deluxe Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape
• The mathematics of Staveley's run of home ties in the FA Vase
• The goalkeeper at the end of a rainbow at Dronfield Town
• The worst ground I have ever visited - sorry, Bletchley Town, it's you
• The location of Colwyn Bay's ground and a goal by Frank Sinclair
• The Vosper Thornycroft Pigeon Club hut at Sholing FC
• Theale's celebrations in winning the Reading Senior League

Thank you for all the interest and encouragement.  I hope to cross paths with more readers next season, randomness allowing, as I seek to get all the current grounds down to Step Three added to my lifetime list.  I will also pay plenty of attention to the early rounds of the FA Cup.  Have a good summer, and look out for the occasional diversion on here!

Hoops? Aye, They Did It Again.

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Sunday 23 October 2011 at Celtic Park, Glasgow
Result	Glasgow Celtic 2 Aberdeen 1
Competition	Scottish Premier League
Hopping	Second half of a Scottish weekend hop
This match in one sentence
Celtic did just about enough to overcome a robust challenge from a very physical Aberdeen side.
So what?
Celtic remain third, a point behind Motherwell and ten behind Rangers, but with a game in hand over each.  Aberdeen stay seventh.
Something random
1967: Manager Jock Stein with the European Cup   Brother Walfrid founded the club in 1888 Evidence of the history and tradition of the club is everywhere to be seen.  To be fair, it’s a very impressive arena.
The drama unfolds
This game will have been well documented elsewhere by now for all interested parties, so a brief commentary and impression will suffice here. Recent results, not least a Rangers win at lunchtime, made this a tense must-win occasion for Celtic.  To be fair, they worked themselves into a dominant position and had the vast majority of possession in the first quarter. Their intricate triangles around the Aberdeen box often fell apart at the last step, but after 17 minutes one move worked and left Ki Sung Yeung with enough time and space to finish from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box into the opposite corner.  1-0 This settled the nerves, and Celtic went on to dominate the half.  Beram Kayal looked an impressive presence in midfield, and Charlie Mulgrew led by example in defence.  However, they did not have sufficient guile or composure to add a second goal before the interval.  1-0 at half-time The atmosphere changed again when Aberdeen equalised early in the second half with a goal by Ryan Jack.  1-1 The home fans became less patient with Celtic’s probing and possession-protecting play, and the game became more fractious.  Here’s an example of the home side’s response. Relief came when Mulgrew got on the end of a header from a set-piece to fire into the roof of the net with 20 minutes left.  2-1 Jack was sent off for a second bookable offence and the home side held on for the win.  Deserved enough for territorial domination and technical superiority, but not that convincing.  Aberdeen had received four other yellow cards besides Jack’s pair.  Final score 2-1
A snippet from the programme
A series of pieces on Bobby Murdoch are included, #7 in a series on the Celtic greats.  He was in the team that beat Inter Milan in Lisbon to become the first British side to win the European Cup. “I joined the club in 1959 from school and signed professional in 1962.  From the start it was hard work, but we were all brought up from the same area.  We stayed with the club and grew up together.  We all came through the third team and the second team and then the first team together and more or less had played against each other at school level.  So the average age when we won the European Cup was a good average age.  That night in Lisbon was a dream come true.  I cried; I was in tears coming off the park.  I remember doing a radio interview, I think I said something like, “We came here to show you how to play attacking football against the Italian defensive-minded people.”  I think the squads were smaller in our day, but the difference really is the pace of the game.”
What I learned today
This was the most “political” football event I have attended for some time. Outside the ground, I had already had a leaflet thrust into my hand about a “Fans Against Criminalisation” Demonstration – this was about opposition to the Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill.  The leaflet argues that football is being unfairly blamed for wider sectarian or alcohol-related crime which is already covered in law, and that Celtic fans “have even more reason to be fearful about the Bill”. We started the formalities with the Red Cards against Racism that I had seen at St Mirren the day before, again warmly applauded by almost everyone. During the game, most of the singing at any given moment in the ground was led by the Green Brigade.  The club was originally very much involved in the creation of the designated zone for this group of “ultras”, but a quick scan of the news websites shows that there have been some incidents that have polarised opinion and are apparently causing the club to review their position.  The Green Brigade openly supports the republican side of the political debates over Ireland and Northern Ireland, and members clearly feel that they are being unfairly targeted by authorities.
What Next?
An FA Trophy replay on the way back south tomorrow evening – Curzon Ashton v Farsley, who meet again after a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

High Best-of-Five for Hibees

No bambooing, please ...

Hopperational details


Date & Venue: Saturday 22 October at St Mirren Park, the newest ground in the top tier in Scotland
Result: St Mirren 2 Hibernian 3
Competition: Scottish Premier League
Hopping: First part of a weekend McDouble.


This match in one sentence
St Mirren ultimately paid the price for a calamitous start in a helter-skelter game full of goalmouth incident.


So what?
St Mirren hang on to 6th place but it is a very congested lower half of the table and that is only 4pts from the bottom.  Hibernian climb to 9th.


The drama unfolds
Both teams took to the field with what looked like Pizza ad leaflets but turned out to be Red Cards for Racism.  The announcements that both clubs were against racism and sectarianism were applauded warmly by a crowd of about 4300.


Here's a scene-setter clip - St Mirren are in black-and-white.





The spirit of warmth and friendliness must have affected St Mirren keeper Craig Samson.  After 7 minutes, he dithered with the ball - Hibs had pressed the St Mirren backline high up the pitch to force a backpass - and Leigh Griffiths robbed him to score an absolute gift of a goal that will consign Samson to the Dodgy Keeper DVDs of the future.  0-1

Not this time, but Leigh Griffiths ended up with two goals

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon talked in his programme notes about a collective responsibility to play passing football in the Scottish game.  Hibs took a more pragmatic view that their opponents might not be comfortable or good enough and they kept pressing.  It was 17 minutes before St Mirren threatened with a header from a free kick, and about 25 minutes before they had their first real chance.  #9 Steven Thompson (not #8 Steven Thomson) volleyed, but straight at the keeper.  However, the home side gradually grew in confidence, with Thomson (not Thompson) finding plenty of space for right-wing crosses, and the game turned right round just after the half-hour.


Paul McGowan’s first goal after 33 minutes was a towering header.  1-1


Two minutes later he reacted first after a blocked shot.  2-1


Hibs reacted well, though, and drew level very soon, as centre-back #5 Sean O’Hanlon (not #4 Paul Hanlon) out jumped Thomson (not Thompson) to plant a header back across the goal into the corner.  2-2


The craziness continued.  Just before half-time, Hibs’ Garry O’Connor sent a high but speculative flick bouncing into the danger area.  Strike partner Griffiths reacted first and seemed to have all the time in the world to pick his spot.  The St Mirren defence had been asleep.  2-3 at half-time


It was a lively start to the second half.  The introduction of Nigel Haisselbank for Thompson (not Thomson) went down well with the crowd, and St Mirren had plenty of possession, and plenty of territory, to keep the fans supportive and positive.  They won a number of set pieces which needed some last-ditch defending.  Double-scorer Griffiths was taken off, and Hibs picked up some yellow cards.  They could no longer hold the ball up front, so it kept coming back.  Thompson (not Thomson ’cos he had gone off, remember, now pay attention) showed good strength in leading the home front line.  However, Hibs held on, defending so deep that much of their work was done in the area, and time started to run out.





With 10 minutes to go, Hibs sub Akpo Sodje could have scored a fourth on the break but it went high and wide.  Then Paul Hanlon (not O’Hanlon) made a superb block at the other end to prevent the equaliser.  Jim Goodwin’s long shot from the rebound skimmed the bar.  Junior Agogo might have got that fourth on the break for Hibs but shot straight at Sansom.  In the final frantic minutes, St Mirren had at least four more chances.  When Jeroen Teselaar’s shot hit the side netting after 94 minutes, Hibs had won it.  Immense frustration for the home faithful, but immensely entertaining for the passing neutral.  Final score 2-3


A snippet from the programme

“Following Scotland’s failure to qualify for a major tournament for the 7th time in a row, everyone associated with the beautiful game in our nation needs to examine themselves to identify exactly what they are contributing to the state of our game.  Long ball, kick and rush football over the years has dragged our game down a peg or two, where we regularly see our teams struggling to compete in Europe.  We need a revolution to take place, where we all commit to modelling the best football practices in the world in order to progress our game in the modern era.  We cannot afford to be an analogue nation in a digital world.” 
Strong words from St Mirren manager Danny Lennon. 


What I learned today
St Mirren, in the town of Paisley, takes its name from an Irish missionary who founded the community that later became an abbey.

Lots of statues in Paisley - this man is NOT a groundhopper (we don''t roll programmes like that)

What Next?
Celtic v Aberdeen on Sunday afternoon.