25th July 2017 - Newcastle United U23s (h)

The Bay team courtesy of Mr Twitter

Newcastle teamsheet courtesy of @whitleybayfc

The lads had played well against lesser opposition and won but it was time to measure themselves up against the boys (albeit younger boys) from the big town. For the first time this season The Boy Mark and I were there before kickoff: although strictly speaking we didn't see kickoff: a buildup of traffic at Morrison's roundabout. There was a big queue to get in which we managed to stay calm about thanks to a spot of controlled breathing and recital of thrash metal classics. 

Relative peace and quiet of the far end of the ground...
the rest of the 861 crowd preferred the other sections. 

The first half was a quiet affair generally. We managed to stay far from the madding crowd but for the second half we had to shoe-horn ourselves into the Car Park End terrace.

A big crowd is always good for the club but for us regular old gits they also cause problems.

1. Queues at turnstyles, tea huts, bars etc

2. Removal from favourite spot.

3. Greater chance of being recognised by kids taught and therefore slight restraint needing to be shown whilst hurling abuse at...whoever.

4. Disturbance of moments of personal contemplation (not all footballing) by constant chatter of slightly disinterested and not total devotees of comparable team tactics during a 0-0 draw or the latest happenings on Game of Thrones.

5. Kids making noise, charging about during aforementioned 0-0 draw, fetching errant balls, playing hide and seek whilst failing to applaud my volleyed back-heeled flick to return a ball into the hands of United's waiting keeper: the impressive Harker.

Yes my membership of the grumpy old men's club was certainly renewed last night but it was great to see a big crowd at Hillheads. The game, in my opinion was entertaining with a lot of desire on both sides. Mrs Twitter in Tommy's Tea Hut was certainly running around like a blue-arsed fly, although at no point, I must add, did she look like a BAF. Another great evening of dedication from Mrs T: both to marriage and club: well done Julie! It certainly was a shock to the old system!

Nashie had the lads working hard and they controlled the centre of the park, making United rely on crosses which were dealt with superbly by Professor Wilko and co. In the absence of any Trialists, we had a team of named players who, when brought on, performed exceptionally well. Towards the end of the game it was the blue and whites who nearly tipped the balance but a 0-0 draw was a fair result and a great one for the home fans. Despite this scoreline, there were plenty of chances and both the Mighty Flynn and Harker in the Newcastle goal looked solid, coming up with crucial saves on a number of occasions. Potter, Ravenhill and Charmey were amongst most of the Bay's forward play while Haley never stopped running and was a constant thorn in Newcastle's side. 

Here's to another super result and big crowd on Saturday. I promise that I won't complain if we get another big crowd for the home game against Harlepool! #htb

22nd July 2017 - New Mills

Whitley Bay FC‏ team v New Mills

Starting XI : Flynn, Glen-Ravenhill, A.Trialist, Wilkinson, Anderson, Charmey, C.Patton, Potter, Kempster, K.Patton, A.Trialist

SUBS : Hall, Haley, A.Trialist, Summers, Cunningham

It is always nice to see the Trialist family well represented at pre-season, despite the fact that none of them ever make it into the regular season team. I have a feeling that Mr and Mrs Trialist have one of the big houses on the sea front opposite the Links. Their house must be filled with a never-ending production line of average but not startling young footballers who once a year dream of making it onto the Mighty Bay team only to see their dream crushed as swiftly as it has blossomed.

I bet Mr and Mrs must have been feeling confident that one of Arnold, Anthony and Arthur Trialist would make the grade as two were in the starting line up while the younger sibling, Arthur was amongst the subs.
Walking around to the Allotment End, there was sadness and delight at seeing the newly named 'Tommy's Tea Hut'. Mrs Twitter had taken over the running but she scurried away, refusing to be in the photo, so it was left to James, who had been passing, to steal the glory. Tommy himself has not been well recently and though thankfully he is out of hospital, it is unlikely we will see behind the counter to serve us our cola bottles and hot chocolate or on a Saturday morning marshalling at the Bay's parkrun. I'm sure everyone would wish him a full recovery. This sign, IMHO, is a fitting recognition of the years of voluntary work he has put in. A heartfelt congratulations to Mrs Twitter who has certainly worked her socks off, both pairs, since taking over. Great job Julie!

The Boy Charlie's final game
before returning to Mexico.
Adios amigo.
Neil's first because of work.

Having been up to Newcastle to witness the cacophony of colour that is the Newcastle Pride festival, I was running late again. Mrs Bay-Blogger (hyphenated cos we is posh) dropped me at Hillheads on her way home; just in time to hear that i had once again missed the first goal of the game. This time it was Callum Patton doing the honours. The crowd was small, as was to be expected for a pre-season against a team that had been awarded the title "Worst team in England"

Manager Gary Brown said: "It gets the worst weather you can imagine. And it means we look forward to our away games because we just cannot get consistency. The people around us are fantastic, but the climate doesn’t help us. We have lots of games called off, a lot of pitch inspections. We often go weeks without a game because our pitch is so soggy. Local firm MANFLU has since stepped in to help the side with a sponsorship deal offering players supplies of their energy products.        

Source: Cavendish Press

The way that the Bay were setting about the task at hand against a team at a comparable level to themselves showed either that the visitors hadn't learnt from previous mistakes or the lads were brilliant. The lads were indeed playing some great stuff and fully deserved to be ahead. Just after half time, Mr and Mrs Trialist must have been beaming proudly as their little Arnold(or was it Anthony?) saw his cracking header superbly saved. Little Patton however was on hand to score. How proud the Patton family then must have been with their investment.

The scoring was rounded off by Thibault and the scoreline in no way flattered the Bay. They had played the best football, controlling the game in every area. Maybe A Trialist could return!

Next stop: Newcastle United U23s.

15th July 2017 Seaton Delaval (a)

The beautifully designed team-sheet from the club's Twitter, another labour of love from Mr Twitter.

For most of my life, a visit to Seaton Delaval meant one of two things: ice cream or ghost stories. The former usually on a dismally damp bank holiday and the steamed up windows of my dad's Ford Escort. The four of us would sit licking silently our one  scoop of vanilla and flake (cause we woz posh) as the rain bounced off the car roof: a familiar scene for many Tyneside families in the 1970s and 80s....

Good to be back and entertaining the Mexican ambassador!

Today, however, there was no ice cream on offer, cause we were classically late again. Having had to drop his son at a ju-jitsu competition in Killingworth first, the Boy Mark finally appeared to pick myself and my returning mate, Charlie. The mercurial Charlie was my original partner in crime and my best man in the heady days of 1996. However the mercurial one now lives in Mexico where his access to Bay games is limited: live streaming possibility there maybe?
As usual we were failed by technology: think we'll try programming in the right postcode in next time, and arrived at the ground to hear the roar / polite, interested applause of the Bay hordes: Kyle Patton had scored. Start as we meant to carry on? We'll see. The overgrown terraces hinted at a much more illustrious past but there were dangers lurking for those fools who had come out in shorts. Sure enough I was whipped by nettles. Thankfully I carried on with extreme bravery and no wincing or mincing. My fortitude was soon rewarded.
Just ten minutes later, with our spot behind the goal achieved and flag erected, the boy-wizard Potter had doubled the lead. In fact I don't know if I can carry calling him that because he seems to have doubled in size and is now more of a skillful power ram. This time he was letting fly with a delightfully curling floater. 2-0 and 11 minutes in.
The week earlier, our good friends in red had played here and won 2-1. We had already matched their total and were looking for more. Bragging rights to the Bay?
Soon after Potter's magi-ball from a corner was turned into Super K's path and he made no mistake: screaming home from two yards out!

With half time approaching Thibault added some of his own Gallic charm: back-flicking a Kyle Patton cross. The younger Patton bro was certainly enjoying himself in the eldest's absence. The second half was a much more sedate affair but new boy Cornish certainly took the game to the Delavals with some ghosting runs that showed great spirit and poise!

The ref provided the entertainment in the second as he found himself without one or both linesmen. Delaval's off-side trap kept being exposed by the Bay frontline which made them more and more frustrated. Finally the ref had had enough of their complaints so he just told them to "shut up cause I'm doing my best!" When they carried on arguing he pointed to the lack of a linesman and kept repeating "Shut up! Shut up!" This was all while he carried on refereeing the ongoing game. Who says men can't multi-task? "Shut up!"
At the final whistle, the Bay had triumphed 4-0 and we could now begin the argument with Charlie - Vase winning teams v current team....could we compare? In terms of team spirit me and the Boy Mark agreed that there were few better teams. This was still a young team with much to prove but you could only beat the teams before you and today they had done that conclusively.