Martins latest comments... Tonight will see our last preparation game, versus Cornerstone Omega, and it will offer me a final look at people and positions. I am still more interested in seeing, learning, team shape, passing, and attitude & character, than I am in the result, but come Sunday my real aggressive desire and passion to win shall finally and thankfully be allowed out at last ! We at GSS FC have waited a long time for Sunday’s season opener. Since my involvement late last year the 11-a-side has been what it is about, and come Sunday it will be time for our first ever competitive game! Therefore although it’s selfish and it is side tracking slightly, I shall be somewhat self indulgent here with a brief league and therefore personal history. My Brother Malc and I formed the Hitchin Sunday League in 1977, (we named it the Ickleford & District League to attract more attention to it). I was 19 and my brother 24, and despite our young years and lack of knowledge of any FA procedures and workings we took on the local leagues and the County Football Association to get the league off the ground. Those of you with no knowledge of FA structure etc will not grasp how tough a fight we had. We upset and embarrassed a lot of Local League and County administrators, and the war we indulged ourselves in left us as the bad lads for a very long time! Years in fact! Whilst some administrators would say deservedly so, the fact was that we tried to change things for the good of all, and on the day of my brothers funeral 1164 players were registered to play football in the league! Not a bad job then! When Malc could no longer get in the team, (it wasn’t long before I left him out :-) ) he had a brief spell as a referee and then eventually dropped out of football. It left me to try and run the league with the new committee that had formed, (some excellent people got involved, all far better administrators than I, and they went on to grow the league into what it is today) but it did not stop the FA getting their pound of flesh from me. I was hung drawn and quartered whilst Malc went on to become one of the most prominent and important people in running American Football in Great Britain before his cruel and untimely death. It is a huge irony, co-incidence, or stroke of fate, call it what you will, that will see us play our first ever competitive game in “Ickleford” on Sunday! Please forgive my self indulgence on this occasion, but I kind of like the idea that my brother shall be watching that game and thinking to himself similar to what I am thinking, “It was a huge pain in the rear for a very long time, it caused us un-ending grief for years, it cost me personally an enormous amount in footballing opportunities and contributed greatly to me missing out on many things I could have achieved playing football, but ultimately, seeing what the league has achieved, and when I see all of the great people, players, Committee, and those that support the lad’s, when I see all of those involved in GSS FC, step out for their first “proper” game….., it was worth it!) Thank you for taking the time to show an interest in GSS FC. Martin
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 08:05:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015