63 The Footballers

The 1966 World Cup ignited my interest in football, but when the 1966/67 season kicked off I had no team to support. As a Bolton boy my first thought was for the Wanderers but media coverage, in Kent, of a Lancashire team on the slide was practically non-existent. This brought the Manchester teams into consideration as the nearest clubs to home. Manchester United became my choice, simply because media coverage of United, with England heroes Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles in the side, was plentiful.

Upbury manor: Along with many others we Twydall boys attended trials after school for the under 12s football team. Stanley Slaughter quickly nominated himself as centre forward. He, along with Clive Ward, a nippy inside left and Paul Parker, a speedy outside right had a good chance of making it. Me? I was an enthusiastic hopeful.

At the first trial my side were attacking down the slope when Stan chased a pass into a corner.

‘Pass it Slaughter!’ Mister McDouall shouted. ‘Pass it!’ he shouted again, as Stan got the better of two defenders on the touchline.

‘Pass it Slaughter!’ Mister McDouall bellowed as Stan wriggled past a third defender and closed in on goal. ‘Slaughter! You’ll never score from…’

Stan cut inside…

…and burst out laughing as he slammed the ball into the net. We laughed all the way back to the centre spot for the restart. Not so Mister McDouall, though he did allow himself a little smile.

A second trial wasn’t so enjoyable. On a cold day the wind was biting when we took to the field. Keen to get into the game as quickly as possible, straight from the kick off I charged down an attempted long ball and took the full thwack of a heavy lace-up football on my inner thigh. It felt like I’d been hit with a cannonball. It looked like it too. The big purple circle that appeared was still there when I showered afterwards.

In spite of that I did okay. I hadn’t covered myself in glory but I remained hopeful of making the school team. Once we were all changed and seated Mister McDouall named the side to play at Walderslade that weekend.

‘Goalkeeper: Hooper. Right Back: Lynch…’

I was in, as were Paul and Stan. And so was a gleeful Clive. Sitting on the bench beside me, he turned with widespread arms when ‘number eleven – Ward’ was announced. For a moment I thought he was going to hug me, till he remembered we didn’t do things like that. Instead, we offered each other congratulations.

We four Twydall boys were in the team for Saturday, but when Stan and Clive said they’d be going to the match on their bikes, it gave me and Paul a problem – neither of us knew how to get to Walderslade. Lucky for us, Raymond Wright did.

Come Saturday morning me and Paul strolled up to Rainham Mark, to meet Ray at the bottom of Marshall Road – an adventure in itself, even before we caught the bus to Walderslade. The highlight of the bus ride came when overtaking two breathless cyclists while ascending a steep hill. From kneeling positions on the back seat we laughed and jeered, and gave V signs to the cyclists as we passed, but Clive and Stan were too busy huffing and puffing to offer anything but pained grins.

Walderslade v Upbury Manor

In a one sided first half a kid called Charlie Donohue ran rings round us. We just couldn’t get the ball off him. My best moment came when, from right back, I chipped the ball across our penalty area to our left back. A perfectly weighted curling pass, I thought, as it sailed over the head of the onrushing centre forward.

‘Lynch! Never pass across your own penalty area. Don’t ever do that again!’ bellowed an apoplectic Mister McDouall from the touchline.

Half time: Walderslade 3 Upbury Manor 0

We did better in the second half. Perhaps it was the half time oranges. We pulled a couple of goals back but in truth, we were well beaten by a better side.

Full time: Walderslade 3 Upbury Manor 2

‘Three cheers for Walderslade!’ shouted our captain, as we trooped off the field. ‘Hip hip…’

Three cheers were given, as demanded by etiquette. Good ones, as demanded by Mister McDouall.

Our result was one of several announced after assembly on Monday morning. Compared to some, ours was quite respectable. A small consolation.