86 Miles To Newlands

Hello from fishy Grimsby! Some of you may know me already- my name is Andy Ecclestone, Grimsby’s number one Farsley fan. However, you may not know that I actually grew up a stones throw away from Throsle Nest on New Park Croft, I attended Westroyd Infant School as a child and my Nan still lives in the village. I may have left the village back in 1997, but I have not forgotten my roots.

My earliest memories of Farsley Celtic were having regular 5 a side games on the pitches with my brothers Stephen and Christopher (not the former Doctor Who) and playing in the indoor sports arena if the weather was really bad outside.  I still cannot believe how much this club has evolved in the 10 years since leaving. I know I am only 23, but back in my day Farsley Celtic were in the Northern Counties East League Division One North! We all know that this clubs’ rise has been nothing short of a miracle, and as I live so far away this rise has helped me in my following of the Celts.

Since leaving Farsley I have always tried to find out fixtures and results, which had proved extremely difficult until last season. As for this season and future seasons, I am determined to make as many games as possible, but working full time in a pub it is practically impossible to make weekend games.

As mentioned in the title of this article, it is 86 miles from my house to watch a “home” game at Throstle Nest, a 172 mile round trip. I frequently get asked ‘why go all that way to watch a non-league team?’ to which I almost always reply ‘The Blue Square Premier is a league!’ Although I admit to going to the odd Grimsby Town game, they’re not my team; I don’t sing with the same passion. If on the very rare occasion I can get a Saturday off it doesn’t matter how far I have to travel (the playoff final at Burton was a 360 mile round trip), I’d much rather watch a team who I really want to win. As the saying goes, ‘You can take the man out of Yorkshire, but you can’t take the Yorkshire out of a man’. The same is true for Farsley Celtic.

For the trip to Burton last year I had a car full of football fans, curious to see this team I had mentioned so much about (and I don’t mean Hinckley!) – Now when I mention going to a game there are lots of people who want to go. It’s a shame my VW Beetle (I call it a supporters bus) is not an old-style VW Transporter, otherwise there would be lots more of us at the games! Speaking of games, I couldn’t believe it when this years’ pre-season friendlies were announced. 21st July 2007- Farsley Celtic vs Grimsby Town. I booked it off work immediately- I couldn’t miss that! I spoke with Grimsby Towns’ accounts manager soon after (he lives opposite where I used to live) to see if they would be running a coach- but he didn’t seem to think they would be taking that many. Still, we travelled over and to this day I still mention the result (to quote Fabio Capello, there are no such thing as friendlies!) It would be nice to see the Celts play a friendly at Blundell Park next season!

In recent years I have always taken my Farsley scarf to England games (home and away) and have been stopped on just 2 occasions- one group of Exeter fans before the Israel game in September saw the scarf and was asking me about the club as they were at the Nest the following Saturday. And on another occasion I was stopped by a guy who collects scarves. He wanted my scarf and offered my £30 to which I laughed and said ‘no chance!’  And even more recently my fiancée discovered that one of her colleagues is one of our star players’ partner. So the links between Farsley and Grimsby extend to more than just me now. Even two of our players, Stephen Downes and Georges Santos, were once on the books at Grimsby. It really is a small world!

As for this season like I mentioned earlier its hard to attend every game due to work commitments, but I have managed to attend home games against Grimsby, Torquay, Gateshead, Alfreton, Stevenage, Burton, and Droylsden, and I will be attending the final 3 games of the season against Forest Green, Grays, and away at York (although York is a shorter journey for us here) So by the end of this dramatic season of ups and downs, I would have attended 9 home games and 1 away game, amassing approximately 1,672 miles on the clock. Next season I aim to double that mileage, by attending most home games and some away ones too in the 2008/2009 Blue Square Premier.  So, when people mention the mere 170 mile trip, often freezing weather, arriving home late, sometimes bad results, and they ask ‘is it worth it?’ I can reply honestly with a definite ‘absolutely’.

For the record, from the games I have attended this season one player has stood out for me as a tireless, passionate player and deserves my vote for player of the year- Stephen Downes.

Up the Celts!
Andy Ecclestone
Farsley Celtic Supporters Of Grimsby (www.fcsg.co.nr)

 

Pictures

Gearing Up For The Playoff Final
David Richardson (Left), Ian Sommerville (Centre), Andy Ecclestone (Right)

Blown Away
The wind doesn’t stop Andy Ecclestone and fiancée Jemma Firth supporting Farsley

The Number One Farsley Fan In Grimsby
Andy Ecclestone

Farsley Regulars
David Richardson (Left) and Andy Ecclestone (Right) outside Pirelli Stadium