OpenC

Can never find it when I need it. One of my favourite football pictures of all time I was in the middle tier right behind the goal. It's actually not as easy a chance as I had thought, by the time he catches up with it

'cast here' = 'on this site' rather than 'at this location', I see Location was, I reckon, Aln Valley Railway

That doesn't link anywhere, looks like you need to be logged in. I'm assuming it was just down the road from me in Alnwick. Looked like it anyway

Well, that's been done to death on here I'm sure; I make no judgement on that side of it and Glory Hunter is just the accepted term I know for someone with no connection to a team following them simply because they win stuff, or have done. I find it a pretty alien concept but folk can of course support who they want. I just can't help but think that when he goes to watch them and tells people he's driven four hours to get there, most of the fans would, rather than thinking he's one of their own, wonder why he's not at SJP watching Newcastle. I really don't see what he gets out of it, but the story was less about people following non-local teams and more to highlight this lad pointing out the supposed troubles he's gone through as a Liverpool fan the last four decades your saying that Manchester United 'have been crap for years' suggests to me that we're perhaps coming at this from very different angles, though in the grand scheme of English football, they've hardly been objectively crap

Bad times, man

Love a bit of short-sighted football 'woe'. There's a lad at work late 30s, Northumberland born and bred, supports Liverpool. Says he has since he was young and when it gets pointed out that a lot of people glory hunt successful teams when they're younger but generally eventually grow up and follow their local team, he tries to justify his continued adult support with 'I've stuck with them through the bad times'

Moving to Castle Leazes wouldn't be the end of the world for me This is what I'm saying though, I find it hard to believe they'll go so far as saying We Want To Build On Leazes Park Or Castle Leazes without already having sorted it - I just don't see them making the mistake of going public then being beaten by the Fenham Grass Fanciers Brigade like what happened last time. If it's as imminent as they're making it sound, I would have thought that public consultation would already be done and out of the way but I just don't see how it could be done and kept quiet. The other scenario of course is that it's not actually that imminent

Could the council and freemen do it unilaterally without consulting on planning though? Wouldn't have thought so, but I might be wrong

I don't know, I just feel like if that was going to be the option and an announcement is 'imminent' then we would, one way or another, already know by now that they had been seriously considering it.

I'm not sure it always does, honestly

Do we not have to work on the basis that if Leazes Park or Castle Leazes was going to be the option then the consultation would already have been done? Find it hard to believe that they could keep it quiet, and equally hard to believe that they're going to announce their plan only to be potentially stymied by Ethel and Wilbur subsequently complaining about green spaces

Alnwick unexpectedly turned over Ryton and Crawcrook Albion today, scrappy game but took the goal well when the chance came. Looking comfortably mid table now. First home win which was starting to feel important.

In the financial environment we're in and where the amount of money involved is getting on for the value of a couple of proven decent performers or prospects it's surely not that surprising that some people aren't completely sold on this one. It's not like we're chasing somebody who's universally acknowledged as one of the finest centre halves ever to grace the league.

I know what Eddie's saying about elite players being a small pool to fish but honestly, last two bids just look a bit desperate and increasingly pathetic to me

Ah well, if Alnwick survive the season and Jarrow fall away to stay where they are I'll get a pint next season then. I was stressed out enough with the satnav taking me all over the fucking place was a complicated little drive there. Northern League is an obvious step up on the Alliance but they haven't looked completely outclassed by anyone yet so I'm still hopeful. Felled by a suckerpunch at the death when they played CLS Town the other night but I'm pleased with the approach they're taking. One thing I have noticed is the amount of complaining to officials in this league mind; Billingham Town were fucking embarrassing with their constant "offside" and "foul throw" and "that's a red ref". I wish the officials would impose their authority a bit more.

Walked past that the other day when I was at Jarrow, couldn't tell if it was the sort of place I was going to get mugged or if it was aalreet. It looked derelict from a lot of angles Ended up just getting a kebab from over the road

Alnwick holding it together first half for once. Hopefully can have their usual majestic second half without the stress of being two down already

Cathedral by the Chicken Cottage it must stay

Atrocious come on man

Alnwick back from 2-0 to win 2-4, played great second half. I'm increasingly hopeful they can survive in this league

Billingham Town today. Some canny little setups in the Northern League, like.

£3.70 at Alnwick Town FC

Outside looks like what new build B&Qs might look like

Yeah, it's a lovely pitch (had real problems at the end of last season when a field drain burst but the groundsman has got it bang on again) and the ground's got loads of character without it being actively falling apart I feel like places like SJP are exactly the sort of grounds the NL needs, there are too many flatpack 3Gs these days. There are two things that constantly baffle me about Alnwick; they just can't defend the back post on set pieces, and even when they're winning and should just be closing a game out they always still feel in a rush to get forward, which is exactly where the equaliser came from. The forward options are limited as you say, Usman Ogidan who plays as 10 is an absolute battering ram and brilliant but not an out and out striker (he would have been immense in a 4-4-2 in the 90s) but the only other options up front are Max Anderson who's just come in and is playing OK but needs to settle, and a 16 year old who's being used as centre half and centre forward. Manager was telling me they're hoping to get a few in this week so we'll see.

Cacapa, not sure he ever did anything good