Walking My Way Back To You*

After a few days soul searching, pondering the meaning of life and considering a way forward the Members of SHWFC met for their latest Monday morning meander full of hope, expectancy and the mad desire to enjoy a new week Ruskin Sports Village and the Arcoframe arena bore the scars of the previous day's celebrity fest Stars (sic) of Coronation Street, Emerdale and Holyoaks had appeared in a Charity football match, some daringly without make up The crowds that had flocked to witness the event had discarded litter and debris with reckless abandon There was scarcely room for Les Meldrew to set up base camp for the collection of those few remaining members who prefer cash rather than digital trading arrangements including Bitcoin and Online banking Nevertheless he still managed to extract subs from those steeped in the old ways, including £2 from an unnamed member who harks back to paying in sovereigns

The Officials for the morning included Poacher turned Gamekeeper (not to be confused with Goalkeeper) Gonzalo, Ref Les of WFA fame and our wily Social Secretary The Cockney Rebel who is still working back to fitness after injury and holiday indulgence

Warm ups and photo opportunities over the assembled teams were;

Purple - Mark NR, Barry Wizz, Sheila, Liz and Roger Moore

Pink - Phil the Power, Thatto Dave, Lord Rainford, Steve Honeyman, Andy Man and Julie

Orange - Tony Snakehips, Kirsty, Les Hewitt, Jill Tomo, Chris Kelsall and Enoch

Green - Mike McSpeed, Mika, Eamon, Kenny and Haggis

Black- Wickie, Phil the Moss, Chris Willo, Michelle Monday and Triallist

Sky - Amazon, Tom Derby, Paul F, Eileen, Citeh Geoff and Tom Stretch

Ref Les's first encounter featured Pink and Purple in a very close tussle that was a testimony to hard graft and enthusiasm Pink despite enjoying the benefit of an extra body struggled to overcome the plucky Purple people But goals by Julie and the Honeyman stole the win despite a typical Barry Wizz strike 2-1 the narrowest of wins for Pink

In Round 2 Purple were put to the sword by Black, creating chances but undone by goals by Michelle and Chris Willo 2-0 the final result in another tight contest

Purple did exact a measure of revenge with their final match victory over Yellow Mark Davies (NR still no relation to former Coach John Davies) was on target to seal the close fought win Eamon we're informed missed several chances (who can honestly claim they've never missed a chance?) something for discussion in the Green Room (or possibly not)

There was plenty of excellent sportsmanship I'm reliably informed

Gonzalo made his seasonal return to the refereeing dark arts with a performance that received much praise afterwards His first/only game-saw Orange and Sky feature in the morning's six a side fixture The match was an epic battle that ended honours even Prior to the game Red and Blue cards were mentioned but with a mature display of officiating we're still untouched in the pocket when the game ended There was a frenetic pace throughout but the players honesty and sportsmanship ensured fair play much to Gonzalo's delight

Orange went ahead thanks to Chris Kelsall, but Dave Amazon Prime struck back to level the game 1-1 Amazon again and a brace of Toms Derby and Stretch meant that Sky were 4-1 up at halftime Orange took control after the break Chris K, Tomo and Kirsty exerted a measure of control with some neat pass interchanges Enoch found the net with a neat goal before Chris Special K finish 4-3

Amazon delivered a further goal to push Sky 5-3 ahead but Enoch and Chris K brought the game back to an equilibrium that saw out time Sky took a strangle hold on the dying moments with a series of corners Orange defended well and the game finished 5-5

Gonzalo reported some minor running off the ball as well as some illegal tackling from behind As a player totally immersed in the game, his performance drew some very positive comments afterwards However, it must be stressed that in the context of Walking Football his was not the performance of a WFA or regular WF Official Maybe common sense makes for better games? Or providing everyone is on the same page an amount of liberal leeway can be tolerated He enjoyed the session and the players responded

When reflecting on the morning in the sumptuous surroundings of the Slipper Room, one regular runner admitted he'd no idea that he was running

That illustrates part of the problem We might address this with some walking demonstrations and practice A level playing field is fine with like minded players of generally good fitness and similar ages But that isn't always the case and our application of the Laws must reflect and accommodate those differences for safety and sanity

The games refereed by our Cockney Rebel presented something of a logistical nightmare Firstly huge thanks to him for generously stepping in whilst still under the influence of all that jellied eel and pie and mash last week The determination to stamp out running, tackling from behind and three touch infractions presented focus and lack of notebook and pen issues Next time mon ami, next time!

What is not in dispute is that players seemed more intent on observing the rules and referee's guidance A little concern about the awareness of running or walking perhaps but Rome wasn't built and all that guff We will try again on Wednesday under the intense hothouse conditions of inside the SoccerDome or outside in the sultry nay balmy conditions of the AstroTurf terrain

Walking My Way Back To You* - The Spinners (not those jolly tyros in their cardigans) but the Detroit version - Working My Way Back To You (for the pedants)