Oldham Tight

Rochdale U18s v Wigan U18s, EFL Youth Alliance

Oldham U18s v Notts County U18s, EFL Youth Alliance

Oldham St Anne's v Eastmoor Dragons, Rugby League Conference

Non-league day is a day I steer well clear of anything non-league. The chance to be patronised by premier league supporters, or the token report from the nationals, all of which will contain the word 'crumbling'. All so that a few people can say how they have supported 'grass roots' football, usually by going to watch a Conference game between two full-time teams, with playing budgets greater than most of league 2. Not for me Brian.

As I have at least one game planned for every day this week, I wasn't intending on doing anything today except maybe wander down the Rochdale canal to watch Siddal in the Rugby League conference. However, I was woken by a large group of Morris dancers outside my bedroom window. This reminded me that today was the town rushbearing festival. This is some sort of Morris dancing convergance, supported by a real ale trail, undertaken by people who don't normally drink, usually ending in carnage. Something else to be avoided.

I headed for the railway station, and jumped on the first arriving train, which turned out to be the 0920 to Leeds via Dewsbury. On the train, checking for non-non-league games, showed a couple of EFL academy games involving Rochdale at 1030 and then Oldham at 1200, (strangely, despite being five miles apart, Oldham are in the North East league, Rochdale in the North West) with Rugby League at Oldham St Annes at 1400 and Rochdale Mayfield at 1500, so a plan was born.

This meant having to alight the train at Dewsbury, to head back over the Pennines. This gave the enticing option of the on station West Riding Refreshment Rooms.

However, earlier in the week, whilst enjoying a Five Points IPA, logging it on Untappd, revealed this.

I reset my Untappd each year, and stop drinking when I get to a thousand. This is why I normally have December off the sauce. However, my unexpected move to the north has conjured up a host of new drinking opportunities, so this year I have hit the grand in August. I will try and stay off it for the rest of the year.

So instead of my first pint of the day, instead it was on to the next Transpennine service to Manchester.

Even League one clubs don't hold their academy games at their grounds, so on arrival into Piccadilly, it was a bus safari across East Manchester, in the pissing rain. Rochdale play at Abbey Hey, in West Gorton.

First off was a Stagecoach Dennis Trident chassis on an Alexander Enviro400 body, which formed the 206 very indirect service to Denton.

West Gorton is most famous for being the setting for Shameless. Ironically, the locals complain that the programme makes the place sook to good. I popped into the indoor market, first of all to the café where people were catching up on who had been shot that week, and then to be short changed at every stall I bought something from. As I returned back past the café, someone was being mocked for having a B&M Bargains bag, which was like Fortnum and Masons compared to this place.

On to the Chatsworth estate, which seemed to be populated by old blokes walking around with bin bags and cut down shovels. The football ground was visible through the houses where chipboard seemed as popular as glass as a window material.

This was originally the sports ground for Crossley, an engineer firm who built cars and buses, but in the 1950s tried to branch out into railway locomotives, which were a disaster, non staying in service for more than a few years, sending the company into the decline. By the 1980s, they were just making bus engines, before being bought out by Rolls Royce and the Manchester plant being shut down. The sports ground had been out of use for some time, and was taken over by Abbey Hey.

Rochdale U18s v Wigan Athletic U18s, EFL Youth Alliance Under 18 North West

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Abbey Hey had been going since 1902, but didn't step up to the Manchester league until the 1970s, progressing into the North West Counties by the mid 1990s, by which time they had moved to the current ground.

Cover is limited to this stand where a central standing area has had seating areas added at each end.

A handful of parents/scouts/groundhoppers/potential sex offenders were in attendance.

A new changing room and social club complex has been built on the far side. The pitch was absolutely immaculate, one of the main reasons for it being used by Rochdale.

The toilet block was a thing of great beauty, blending into the community with its chipboard windows.

A requirement for youth team games is to gauge the relative prosperity of each team through the standard of the mini buses. Wigan had a premium mini-coach with its own driver, Rochdale had a decent enough Transit, driven by the coach. Both significantly better than the Plymouth Argyle death trap seen at Mousehole earlier in the year.

Despite the wet weather, no @keeperstowels were evident.

Agricultural clutter was limited to this wheelbarrow, which looked to have a better offering than most of the stalls in the indoor market.

A pretty dire game ended 0-0.

I headed back through the bronx, for my next move, the 171 to Fallowfield, another Stagecoach offering, this being Alexander bodied Dennis Dart Enviro 200, you know, the ones with the 10.7m wheelbase.

A run through more dreary parts of East Manchester, was livened up at the terminus, where a group of Canadian Geese steadfastly refused to move from the turning circle, much to the chagrin of driver, who proceeded to swear at them in broad Mancunian.

I was therefore dropped on the main road, as the driver went off to look for somewhere to turn, muttering about 'fucking duck cunts'.

A quick wander up the Oldham Road took me to my onward stop. This time a First Dennis Trident E40D/Alexander Enviro-400 H45/28F, new in 2012 and used as Olympic games transport before moving to the First Manchester fleet. The bloke on the right is about to undertake the campest bus flag imaginable.

Oldham Academy play at the first team training ground at Coppley Hill. The bus dropped me somewhere near and I went to where I thought the entrance was, only to do a tour of most of a primary score, before finding the entrance.

So to the Oldham Athletic training ground. I'm not convinced that those who campaigned against Ched Evans joining Oldham, might actually have done him a favour.

And through into the secret garden.

Oldham U18s 0 v Notts County U18s 2, EFL Youth Alliance Under 18 North East

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The game was being played on the furthest of the two pitches on the complex.

Spectator facilities were limited to a roped off area on one side of the goal. I started watching from here but a rather simple bloke kept ranting about West Manchester housing authority and farting.

Oldham had much more of the play, but it was Notts who won the game with a couple of scrambled goals.

I headed off to my next game. This move was by tram, though finding the stop was a challenge. As often happens, there are two relatively close housing estates, so a stop is built between them. However, these are in the middle of no-mans land, not being convenient for anyone.

My tram turned up, full of (well, quite busy with) Shrewsbury fans heading for Oldham.

Oldham has three guide pubs, two of which were required. However my iron will saw me carry on through the town centre, on to Shaw and Crompton, as the back platform was required. The line round the Oldham loop to Oldham, used to be a normal train line. However, it was converted to Metrolink tram four years ago. This saw a diversion through Oldham Town centre, and also a turn back at Shaw and Compton, which every other tram terminates at. I'd done the route through Oldham, but not the move over the crossover and into the bay at Shaw, so this was red penned.

It was then back one stop to Derver, a transport interchange opened in the mid-eighties.

I alighted here as it was the nearest stop for Oldham St Anne's rugby. The walk to the ground took me through a housing estate that made Gorton look like Beverley hills. The entrance to the estate is marked by a rock with the name board ripped off, and a stained mattress. Stay classy Oldham.

The ground is located in an old quarry just above the estate.

The opposition had come by coach showing all the hallmarks of a reputable operator; contact by hotmail and registered on Irish trade plates.

Oldham St Anne's 8 v Eastmoor Dragons 16, National Conference League - Division 3

Oldham St Anne's were formed as a Catholic side in 1945. The programme has three pages on the club history, but this covers 1945-19457 in minute detail, then ends. All I know is that they beat Batley in the Challenge cup a few seasons ago, and they have recently had a couple of relegations to division 3. Their motto is 'second to none'. 'None' being the eight teams ahead of them in the league.

  

Eastmoor were one of the original Rugby League clubs, and were one of the top Yorkshire teams until the 1930s. However, WW2 hit the club very hard, and local rivals Wakefield Trinity took over as the top club in the area. Since then, they have dropped into the amateur game.

The ground itself was in a lovely setting, flattened out into a wooded hill top.

By now the rain was relentless, the shelter being of a natural sort in the trees on the touchline.

Walking up to the pitch, a series of shipping containers were accompanied by this thing of outstanding beauty.

God knows how many stands I've seen at sports grounds, but this now takes top spot. A parked up lorry trailer, cut a few window holes in it, and the greatest ever hospitality lounge, with a sponsor that only further complements the ingenuity of it. Add to it the roller shutters, and the two blokes having a piss up the containers on the left, and a structure that will never be bettered. I am definitely sponsoring a game next season.

With it now absolutely pissing down….

….I headed for the trees.

Oldham were first to score, going over in the corner.

With a very unwelcoming Sadlleworth Moor in the background, Oldham missed the subsequent conversion.

However, Eastmoor soon came back into it with a couple of converted tries.

A big clash of heads in the first half saw some of the most primitive first aid imaginable.

  

Originally, I'd planned to watch the first half, then go to watch the premier dividion game at Rochdale Mayfield. However, being pissed wet through, I decided against another move to instead staying for the whole of this game

In the second half, both teams scored unconverted trys, to make the final score 8-16.

I headed back to the tram stop, for a move on to Rochdale Interchange.

Expecting a wait in the rain, not only did the sun briefly come out, but a train suddenly appeared, in the bay platform, unused since the Rochdale service went over to the trams. A service from Leeds to Manchester was being terminated due to the Guard being racially abused. A replacement guard had made their way from Manchester, but as the train was so late, it was heading back to Leeds, which meant a bonus short wait and another new platform ticked off.

Back into Sowerby, and the rain was lashing down again, right on all the Morris dancers, and a very soggy sounding brass band.

The same view a few hours later, as the all-day drinking inevitably ended in carnage.