Happy New Year to all our members, their families, friends and our loyal readers
SHWFC will soon be celebrating 10 glorious years since our first session back in February 2015 At times it’s been epic, emotional and above all, always a load of fun
Here’s looking forward to the next ten years Now there’s a delicious if scary thought!
There’s one school of thought that reckons we should tackle life’s problems head on
In football parlance “the ball was there to be won” - said usually as the Ref books me for being a tad late to arrive at where the ball once was So a bit of snow and ice was never going to present too much of a challenge for intrepid Waking Footballers or so we thought
St Helens Council had other ideas Maybe they wanted to preserve the AstroTurf to prevent cutting up the surface, except it’s AstroTurf and doesn’t cut up Whatever the reason we had a decree issued just before 9am that Ruskin Sports Village was closed for the day
All that pent up adrenaline, emotion and energy would have to stall for a couple more days
Wednesday’s Sutton SoccerDome session was therefore suddenly catapulted into the spotlight of being our first session of 2025 The signs were ominous however with the weekend’s weather still wreaking havoc with local traffic and transport infrastructure There was no doubting that play outdoors on the MUGA ( multi use games area) was impossible with icy patches and a deeply rutted surface Instead the SoccerDome featured 2025’s first session with ten members strutting their stuff safe from the ravages of the weather
The teams selected were;
Blue - Cockney Rebel, Phil the Power, Tom Derby, Andy Man, John Cousins and Les Hewitt
Yellow - Joe the Ghost, Steve Honeyman, Ian Hilton, Grav and Chris 4G
There was a slight shuffling of resources prior to kick off, with Cockney Rebel and Chris 4G completing photographic media duties before switching sides for the live action version (not coming to a cinema near you or even Netflix anytime soon)
The Blue team with its extra player sportingly agreed to rotate and sacrifice a player at regular intervals to keep numbers fair Their reward was a 6-4 victory in a game that marked by crisp accurate passing There was the usual sporting spirit on show, a game enjoyed by all No details of the goal scorers has survived the freezing conditions but you know who you are and we’ll done for your modest efforts
With the traditional midweek session curtailed to some extent by the British winter, we decided that we offer as a bonus one-off, an insight into the previously mysterious workings of the Club Executive Committee The new year’s first meeting was held on Thursday night at Ruskin Sports Village in the inner sanctum of the Star Chamber At one stage it was suggested that the meeting might be conducted in the style of the once active Pools Panel The said Pools Panel was a 60s invention that featured a number of old players sat around discussing the day’s proposed fixtures and then after several rounds of drink declaring their verdicts on these games as predictions The predictions were used to base the day’s Pools Coupon outcomes or as it better known - blind guesses
In the end with better things to waste their time on the Executive met to discuss the agenda of Club topics for discussion, consideration and adoption
The Executive team is;
El Presidente (Chairman), Lord Rainford (Secretary), Les ‘Meldrew’ Brack Treasuer, Andy Man (Football Manager), Cockney Rebel (Social Secretary), Phil the Power (Welfare Officer), Gonzalo (Media Manager), Jeff Betty (Referee Manager), Chris 4G (Vice Chair), Kirsty Stockton
Apologies were accepted from Kirsty and Jeff, so play started with a brief passage of action from Andy Man His continuing coaxing for players to cherish possession of the ball, pass with precision and avoid disastrous defensive errors was acknowledged as the way ahead Encourage rather than moan, praise rather than chastise and if all else fails put the ball in Row Z was applauded by all There was a need to amend operational procedure to ensure we did not overstay our allotted time on site but the details will be given at Ruskin in person to those who are due to play on Monday morning
As ever it is vital that members respond to the Group WhatsApp Noticeboard to let us their playing availability Still too many not bothering to inform their likely presence and then arriving to find a delay to team selection We need all to focus on preparing for games rather than using the precious time to catch up with the gossip Game heads on!
The Cheshire FA are conducting a Walking Football Refereeing introduction course on Monday 27th January at Moss Farm Complex CW8 4BG from 10 am - 5pm The Club is prepared to pay the Course Fee of £50 for those who wish to attend Attendees will be expected to Referee part of our sessions after completion of the Course It’s time to realise that we need more qualified referees and more volunteers to officiate our sessions
El Presidente, possibly in need of the spotlight, confirmed we are in discussions with Burnley FC though not for any of their players but instead a couple of fixtures in the Spring There was no attempt to explain when might arrive
Our esteemed Treasurer reported a great take up on Membership renewals with over 70 confirmed and several others (those still using cash mainly rather than Bank Transfer, Bitcoin or Postal Orders)
Our most-valued Secretary has played his usual part in the drive, using his Estate Entourage to evict those who have been slow to cough up
The renewal process has highlighted some players who have through injury or illness fallen off the radar Welfare Guru Mr the Power has spoken to individuals to enquire if there is anything the Club can do to help He has on-going mission to reach out to members who though out of sight are most certainly not out of reach or our thoughts
Many will recall the very open and useful talk on Prostate health in early December The reaction since has been very encouraging and we hope the Club can take on a greater role in fostering health and well-being awareness in due course
El Presidente announced that agreement had been reached with Liverpool County FA for another modest grant for the Club We have also submitted a Grant Application to Grant4Clubs though just today Friday I heard we have failed in that application 500 Applications suffered the same disappointment
The Cockney Rebel has secured a couple of events for this year’s social diversions Race Night firmly under Starter’s Orders for Friday February 28 at the Percival Suite Ruskin In addition he’s played another blinder with our return to the Turks Head for the pre-Christmas Drinks Night Friday 12th December is ‘sorted Mate’
The Club’s 10th Anniversary Celebrations will continue through the year, latest plans under consideration include SportsPersons Dinner, Party Night and other events in recognition of 10 glorious years of SHWFC
Today we’ve launched a local advertising campaign to promote the Club with a new Facebook advert We ask everyone to spread the word Share the advert to your Facebook chums
So the week has ended in a very active manner, quite a feat considering the awful weather that is blighting the country just now We can only hope that the Weather Gods smile on us once more as they tend to on most Monday mornings
January is awash with Birthdays with Jeff Betty, Steve Honeyman, Geoff Painter and Colin the Late Williams all celebrating this weekend There might be a bumper bounty of confectionery available in the Slipper Salon if only we are able to meet and play
Ready or Not Here I Come* - The Delfonics (later ruined by the Fugees)
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