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Chapter One - The magic of the Cup

I’m returning today with some cup nostalgia. This weekend sees the First Round of the FA Cup, the one Saturday of the season which brings together Painters, Bank Clerks, Electricians and Firemen; all with a chance of making the back pages of the various Sunday newspapers for being a hero.

The ISA face the aristocrats of Sunday Football the Mail Social in the third round of the Cup next Sunday. Unfortunately the first attempt of this huge tie was postponed due to the after effects of a heavy week of rain…well, all of one night. My first reaction to this was where were the Mail sweepers? Obviously the Mail are not used to treading on humble pitches they choose the more salubrious County Officers Sports Club to ply their worth’s. Clean changing rooms, hot showers and a very handy reasonable priced bar to sup after. It’s the stuff we can dream of, but do we really want that? I was under the impression that due to their sheer professionalism they would have their ground staff down at the Imps sweeping the water off the pitch at 7am on the morning of the game but no, it didn’t happen.

There was also no truth in the rumour that after the cancellation of the game ISA Ultras, sensing a cup upset, firebombed and torched the old Arts College to vent their anger. Nor was there any truth in the fact that the Mail sent down someone to make sure that their side of the pitch wasn’t singed.

This is the cup and it is what dreams are made of. Remember Yeovil with their famous slope? Well think on, next week it could be the ISA with the pitch that has more bumps than Andy Caswell. I long for the day I can pick up the Chronicle and see the headline ‘Two bankers send Mail crashing out of the Cup’. I am of course referring to Brighton and Griffith scoring the goals that destroy the Champions elect; or Sarnie the trainee electrician, banging one in during the last minute of injury time to the headline ‘Sandbach defuses the Mail’s mains’. There would also be the pictures of all the lads in the bath spraying a makeshift bottle of bubbly at the camera, namely a can of John Hocking's Lucazade Sport, and not one of his vintage 1932 Chardonnays!

All of which brings me round to heroes. Everybody remembers Ronnie Radford when he was mobbed by the biggest collection of Parker wearing kids in the history of the game, well get this. Andy Johnson sinks the Mail on the Imps, and is mobbed by the biggest collection of Ellesse, Lacoste and Ralph Lauren wearing kids in the history of the game…how times change.

One thing is for sure the Section A boys should respect the other Divisions. They are the bread and butter of not only Sunday Football but Football altogether. The words camaraderie, enjoyment, laugh and togetherness spring to mind, so my message to them is underestimate us at your peril.

A lot has been said about management stress in football during recent weeks and I am surely speaking for all of us in wishing Gerard Houllier all the best in his recovery. It is essential we all look after our managers, and I was pleased that our own Paul Brazier took a well-earned break from the vigour of Section D with a visit to the idyllic Lake District. It is tough to manage a side like the ISA. The pressure is always on and the fans want results, not to mention the 20 lads or so he has to choose from, but Paul goes about this the right way and he has our utmost respect. The days of thrashing teacups have gone; Mr Brazier is in the Houllier and Wenger mould. He is a scientific manager with his schoolteacher looks. However he did take this a bit far when he entered the pitch with a white lab coat and a Bunsen burner away at the Red Lion. Perhaps that break in the Lake District was needed a little bit sooner?

God Bless the Roodee. Only last week was I making my way over the Grosvenor Bridge when, to my surprise, I noticed the Global game was on. It was only when I nearly went into the back of the Ford Escort in front of me when a bitter taste came across me… The Roodee was on, yet our match was off. I couldn’t contain my embarrassment. To be fair the two pitches on the Roodee looked to have been worked on by the Council ground staff, and at first sight they look a lot better than last year, but yet only 3 weeks ago our intriguing encounter against Global was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch. One thing is for sure, that pitch works in mysterious ways.

Enjoy your footie