Terras Times April 2020

Southern Football League Champions 2018/2019

TERRAS TIMES The newsletter of the Weymouth FC Supporters Association

ISSUE Apr 2020

From the Editors Chair Welcome everyone. This is the second newsletter in fairly quick succession and there wont be an April fool in sight this year. Shame as we had a couple of crackers lined up to put in here.

First off I hope you are all well and that this terrible virus is keeping its effect on your family and friends to a bare minimum.

At times like this everything is stripped back from the importance of your teams away form and into the simple element of survival for your families and yourselves.

So far our club is riding it out reasonably but we hope that some of the lengthier prognosis that the country will be on lock down until the Autumn are media talk as opposed to the reality.

Anyway that’s enough of that topic.

Season 2019/2020 was a great one for WFC regardless of how it concludes now. The club showed it wasn’t out of place at step 2 and in our two cup exposures to step 1 clubs came away with the narrowest of defeats to both Dover and Barnet. On another day we would have won both of those matches but that is the level we have now set ourselves. We come away from encounters with Vanarama National League clubs disappointed not to get a positive result.

It’s a phenomenal rise for our club and we need to do all we can to keep that momentum going by working hard for each other whilst there are limited incomes.

Whilst things are quieter at the club there have been a number of innovations that will hopefully continue once football is back.

The podcast coming back is a brilliant feature. I was responsible for the TerrasBlog cast all those years ago, a show that never delivered any good news based on its presence on the timeline. Richard Wood did an excellent unofficial one a whilst back before the Under the Main Stand show. That was a crucial way for us exiles to keep in touch with the club and when the media team behind it joined the club in an official capacity it was understandable that the show stopped.

However its return with some of the original cast along with matchday commentator Ben Ashelford has been brilliant and if something like it could remain monthly going forward I think the world would be a better place!

James

Terras Times Interview Weymouth FC commentator Ben Ashelford has been sitting down with us to have a chat about how he got the role and who he looks for as an inspiration each time he pics up the mic.

Thanks Ben and here is the interview in full...

1) how did the commentary come about?

Commentary was always something I was interested in but it seemed like one of those unattainable dreams. I’d researched how to get involved and the advice I’d picked up was to try and get involved in your local club. So I sent an E-Mail to see if there was any chance that I could give it a try and around a week later I met with Josh Barton and a week after that I was at Maidstone away and it snowballed from there.

2) how do you stay impartial during the matches?

I was clear from the start that I would remain impartial at all times. One of my pet peeves of listening to commentary provided by other clubs in the past was that they would tend to ignore the times Weymouth would be in possession and then get overly keen when their team were on the ball. I wanted to be sure that any opposition fan would enjoy the coverage as well. Although my excitement does sneak out naturally at times I pride myself on calling a game straight down the middle and being honest on my opinions of the game.

3 which commentator do you look up to ?

I grew up listening to radio commentary with my dad and the voice that sticks out in his honesty was Alan Green. I didn’t always agree with his opinions but I could tell that he was trying to be balanced and fair. These days Jonathon Pearce is a commentator I like, his knowledge of the women’s game is something I admire and he gets a lot of stick, but I like him.

4 give us your top 3 Terras Top 3 Terras? Wow that’s a hard one. From the present group of players I think Brennan Camp has a very bright future and is going a long way in the game. David Laws provided some of my best memories of supporting the Terras and it would be a toss up between Jason Matthews and Ashley Wells for the third spot, both absolute legends.

Is it over or not?

The latest statements from the National League has seen them failing to follow the leagues from step 3 downwards in terms of declaring the 2019/2020 season as null and void.

There are a number of arguments in both directions and having a bit of knowledge of the running of a step 4 club up here in the north, the decision to end the season and therefore enable to club to shut up shop and mothball could well be a saviour.

Its not idea for players on a 7 day notice contract and you will probably find that this summer will see more than the usual amount of squad turnover at their level. But I hope all clubs survive.

There is an argument that clubs will lose out from not having matches but my view is that most clubs from Step 3 downwards don’t actually make money on a match day once you have paid officials and the players. Look at some of the attendances in the Southern League for example.

It makes sense that our competition is taking its time to come to a conclusion.

With the impact of the division above us on the EFL and knock on to the Premier League there is always going to be more time taken to get a water tight way forward.

The chances of Bashley (for example) getting successful legal action against the FA is far less likely than Manchester United launching a successful challenge. Whether we feel that is a morally correct way for the game to run in the country or not is a moot point to be honest. It is what it is.

So we await the next update on what is happening with baited breath and let’s hope for a

Lockdown Links We all have a bit more time on our hands at the moment so here is a bit of good cheer and some matches and programmes to enjoy from WFC and beyond.

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Extended highlights Weymouth FC vs Slough Town Click here

As it might be the last match of the season it seems appropriate to start here and enjoy that winning feeling, especially if its has to sustain us all summer long.

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Highlights Maidstone United vs Weymouth FC Click here

How different the world was back on the opening day. Enjoy our thrilling comeback win over what was at the time one of the leagues favoured teams.

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Weymouth vs Newport FC 1998 Click here

Back in the late 1990s the shorts were smaller and the shirts bigger. Enjoy this massive promotion battle thanks to ACPM productions who used to spoil us with a brilliant end of season VHS packed with match action every year. We were well ahead of the game with those.

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Weymouth vs Yeovil 1999 Click here

The last competitive meeting at the BLS between these two. See Andy Mason’s men battle hard and watch for the blatant hand ball that could have seen us gain a match winning penalty.

Away from Youtube and on tv streaming platforms I can recommend “The English game” on Netflix. It’s a series based at the turn of the 20th century when football was in its infancy and northern mill teams were taking on the established school such as Harrow and Eton in the FA Cup. There is a great line in episode one when Eton don’t agree to host extra time in a drawn match with Darwen leading to the visitors saying they will appeal to the FA committee. “Go on then” says the Eton captain as his goalkeeper steps forward to reveal he is the Chairman!

Match of the Day returns this weekend as well with some classic matches. Having watched their retro FA Cup coverage last weekend I have high hopes that we will see some big hair and massive sideburns on show once again!

Stay safe everyone !