After losing out to the weather last week, a trip to Raunds Town was again on the cards for Tuesday, when the home side were to take on Wellingborough Whitworth. Checking the map before setting out it occurred to me what a hotbed of non-league football this part of the country is. Whilst in most areas a game between two teams separated by 8.5 miles would be considered a very local derby, in this part of Northamptonshire it is not necessarily the case. In fact there are three other teams in the same division as Raunds that are geographically closer than Whitworth. Thrapston (3.9 miles), Rushden & Higham (7 miles) and Irchester Utd (8 miles). Add to this the fact that Wellingborough Town, AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Kettering Town, Burton Park Wanderers, Rothwell Corinthians and Desborough Town are all less than 20 miles away (apologies if I missed anyone). It must make it very difficult for the teams to attract support in any great numbers.

So, to the ground. Raunds play at Kiln Park which is literally a stones throw from the A45 and right on the exit for Raunds itself. There is a large car park in front of the clubhouse and stadium which looks like it would provide ample parking for the majority of games. Entrance to the stadium itself is to the left of the clubhouse through a single turnstile.
All of the facilities are on the car park side of the stadium. Most of this side of the ground has covering of some sort with relatively large covered seating area and several covered standing areas. The snack bar can be found almost on the halfway line and is part of the clubhouse and changing room complex. The dugouts are directly opposite the main stand backed by a row of trees that runs the full length of that side of the pitch. Both ends behind the goals are open.

With just two points and a few league places between the teams at kick off there was plenty at stake apart from local pride. The game started accordingly with both sides immediately taking advantage of the slick surface to get some early tackles in. There was also no lack of attacking intent from either team. Within the first 5 minutes of kick-off both sides had fashioned very good chances to take the lead but a misplaced header from Raunds and a decent save from the home keeper kept the score to 0-0.
On 14 minutes, and slightly against the run of play, Raunds took the lead. A low left wing cross evaded everyone before falling to Cameron Penny who controlled the ball before slotting it past the Whitworth keeper.
The goal didn't really alter the balance of play. The Flourmen, playing with the slope in their favour, were having more of the ball but were lacking any kind on incision in the last third. The tackles from both sides continued to fly though with a the referee flashing a few yellows here and there. Just past the half-hour mark it all boiled over on the far side of the pitch. A few players squared up to each other with some, unnecessarily, making 30 yards runs to join in. From the other side of the pitch it looked as if at least one player threw a punch, but the referee obviously didn't see it that was and only issued a couple more yellows.
There was no more scoring the half and the referee blew for the end of a tetchy first-half. At this point I think many people in the ground would have put a few quid on there being a red card in the second-half, especially as there had already been at least five  bookings.
As it turned out though, the second half was an entirely more sedate affair. Maybe the teams had both had a talking to at half-time or maybe the 15 minute break had just allowed tempers to die down a little. Either way there was a noticeable absence of 50-50s or niggle in the second half.

Wellingborough came out firing and, even kicking up the slope, managed to make the first couple of chances of the half. Once again though, they seemed to lack the final ball. Then, as the clock ticked onto 67 minutes, Raunds effectively tied up the points when
Karl King sprung the offside trap and slipped the ball into the corner of the net.
From that point onwards, despite a lot of effort, the game began to fizzle out. One or two of the Wellingborough team, most noticeably their number 10 in midfield, did their utmost to drive the team on but, in all honesty, they never really looked like scoring on the night. So, Raunds picked up a very useful and fairly comfortable 3 points catapulting themselves into seventh spot in the league.
Both side have a break from league action at the weekend with home ties against lower ranked opposition in the Northamptonshire Junior Cup.

Raunds Town - @raundstown_fc
Wellingborough Whitworth - No twitter account that I can find

​With Raunds Town falling foul to the weather a more local option was called for, so it was a first trip of the season to Loop Meadow and a Southern league South and West match between Didcot Town and Mangotsfield United. Travelling down the A34 the strength of the wind was noticeably increasing with some of the gusts moving the car around. My decision to go to a local game was looking like a good one because it seemed that there was a chance of abandonment across most of the country.
However, the floodlights were lighting up the Oxfordshire sky and the game was clearly going to start.
The Loop is a fairly frequent haunt, so I won't go into any detail about the stadium. Suffice to say that the terracing under the covered area behind the railway end goal has finally been completed.
Unfortunately there isn't too much to write about the game. One of the most interesting points was that both sides were wearing their away kits, Didcot in blue and black stripes, Mangotsfield in yellow shirts and black shorts. Thanks to the weather it was almost impossible for either team to play football. Any ball lifted more than a foot off the ground could have ended anywhere, the wind was so strong and gusty.
In the first half it was Didcot who were kicking into the teeth of the gale and, unsurprisingly, they found it extremely difficult to get out of their own half. Mangotsfield employed the rather clever tactic of pushing up whenever Didcot had a goal kick. This effectively stopped the keeper from taking it short and keeping it on the ground. When forced to kick long the wind was either holding the ball up or, if aimed to the left, drifting it straight out for a throw-in. 
Despite being on the back foot for the opening twenty minutes the Didcot defence did manage to restrict Mangotsfield to some long distance efforts none of which threatened Leigh Bedwell's goal.
The away side made some very strong claims for a penalty after 37 minutes when one of their players appeared to be hauled down in the box. There were several players between where I was standing and where the incident took place making it very difficult to see exactly what happened. Either way, the referee waved play on and Didcot immediately broke up the field and finally got a shot on target which was comfortably beaten away by Kyle Phillips in the United goal.
So, at half-time it was still 0-0 and the weather was coming out on top. As the stadium announcer pointed out, the evening's crowd of 82 was slightly down on their last home game, where over 2,500 turned up for the visit of Exeter City in the FA Cup.

​Mangotsfield, after seeing how Didcot had struggled against the wind in the first half, began the second half on a very positive note. Playing the ball on the ground as much as possible they made a couple of half-chances in the opening few minutes. They certainly looked as if they had mastered the art of playing into such a strong wind. However, it was not to last and, as the half progressed, Didcot began to push them backwards more and more. One thing that did come to light at the start of the half was the Didcot tactic when defending a corner. As soon as the decision was given two of their players split across the halfway line, one on each flank. Presumably the thinking is that, if they are so far spread, the opposition would have to leave 3 players back, one for each of the wide men and at least one in the middle of the park so as not to leave a huge gap. An interesting move that I have not seen employed before.
Just before the hour mark Didcot had their best opportunity to score. A quick break saw Dutton-Black put through but Phillips produced a great one handed stop to thwart him. As it happened, this just delayed the opener by a few minutes. Just past the 60 minute mark a left-wing break was pulled back for Dutton-Black who, this time, made no mistake min giving the Railwaymen the lead.
After the goal, Mangotsfield tried to push forward and did create a couple of half chances. There was time for a small dust-up between a couple of opposing midfielders which almost, but not quite, escalated into something bigger and then the referee blew to end the game.
To be honest the game should probably have not gone ahead. However, under the circumstances, both teams did their best to produce some football whenever they had the opportunity. On the balance of play a draw would have been a fairer result but Didcot took one of their chances whilst Mangotsfield seemed to lack a killer instinct in front of goal.

Didcot Town - @didcottownfc
Mangotsfield United - @mangotsfieldutd

Its taken 7 months to get around to it after the original What Did You Call Me?  but we finally begin this second edition in Lincolnshire.
Grantham is probably known best for two things, once being voted the most boring town in Britain and for being the home town of one Margaret Roberts (Thatcher). They also have a pretty decent football team, Grantham Town, known as the Gingerbreads. The origin of this nickname is said to date back to the 18th Century when a local baker was trying to make Grantham Whetstone, a traditional hard biscuit designed for travellers. He mixed up the ingredients and invented a new gingerbread snack which became very popular, and this is where the club gets it's nickname.

Strangely, Grantham are not the only team to feature Ginger in their nickname. NPL Division 1 South side Market Drayton Town are known as the Gingerbread Men. Ginger was brought back to the Shropshire area by Clive of India and the bakers of Market Drayton used the spice to create ginger bread in the late 18th century.

Heading East from Shropshire we come across Northern Counties East side Clipstone. The club was known as Clipstone Welfare until 2013 when they dropped the Welfare part and became Clipstone FC. At around about the same time they also adopted the nickname The Cobras. Cobras in Nottinghamshire you may ask? Well, somewhat disappointingly, there is nothing too mysterious about this moniker. The club ran a poll to find a new nickname and The Cobras came out on top.

Next stop on our whirlwind tour is Lancashire. Lancaster City's nickname, The Dolly Blues, relates to the fact that their kit bore a resemblance to the colour of the popular, early 20th Century, laundry product of the same name. William Edge and Sons manufactured Dolly Blue in their factory near Bolton for over a hundred years. City's social club, just outside their ground, was also known as the Dolly Blue Tavern.

Switching from West to East we find Eastern Counties Premier side Fakenham Town, who have a rather unusual nickname, The Ghosts. There are no clues to the names origin on the club website or the wiki entry. However, there is a poem written by Sufflok-born poet Robert Bloomfield (1766 - 1823), The Fakenham Ghost, so maybe this is the source of the nickname? Perhaps someone from the club could shed some light on this or perhaps it should stay a mystery?

Staying in the East of England, we head north to Norfolk. Swaffham Town get their nickname, The Pedlars, from an old English folk tale. A pedlar from the town dreamt that if he went to London, stood on London Bridge and listened, he would hear joyful news. When he acted upon his dream, to no avail, a local shopkeeper told him to stop being so stupid and return home to look for the treasure that the shopkeeper had dreamt of in the pedlar's own garden. He returns, finds the treasure and uses it to rebuild the local church.

As we head West again, towards our final destination in Cornwall, we come across Combined Counties side, Redhill FC. Apart from the rather obvious, given the name of the town and the teams colours, of The Reds they also use the rather interesting Lobsters. This, for a seaside town, would be a reasonable nickname but the town is a good 35 miles from the coast. The name, apparently, comes from a competition to find a new nickname in 1994. However, the nickname can be found in the clubs annals as far back as the twenties when the colour in their red & white shirts would sometimes blend into a pink shade reminiscent of a lobster.

A slight detour into South Oxfordshire for our penultimate team, Wantage Town or the Freds as they are known. Freds being short for Alfredians. The ground is also called Alfredian Park and there are many Alfredian references in the town. The reason behind this is that Wantage is the birthplace of King Alfred the Great.

Finally into Cornwall and Newquay AFC, known as The Peppermints. Thanks to the Newquay web administrator we now know that this name originates from 1906 when supporters of the club noticed a resemblance between the club's red and white striped shirts and that of a popular boiled peppermint sweet. Indeed, we are reliably informed that both the team and the sweets were regarded as 'ot stuff!

That's it for this edition. There are many more odd names out there and maybe there will be a chapter three in the future.

Since I started the BotP site in 2013 I have become more and more aware of the value for money that Step 5 and below seems to offer. To me this is real football level. Entry fees are around the £5 (or less) mark and standards are, in general, very high. Every club at this level has a number of stalwarts on, off or sometimes on & off the pitch. People who give up their time, energy and money to keep these clubs ticking over. So, with that in mind, I have also become increasingly enamoured with the FA Vase where these clubs get their opportunity of glory. As this weekend is the FA Vase Third Round and we are down to the last 64 teams I thought it was a good time to take a look at the remaining teams, the underdogs, the front-runners and who statistically has the best chance of being at Wembley next year.

Let's start with the two remaining Step 7 sides, the real underdogs in the Third Round. They are Uttoxeter Town of the Staffordshire Senior League and Pinxton of the Central Midlands League (South). Both of these sides are in uncharted territory. Pinxton did reach Round 1 in 2010-11 but for Uttoxeter, this is their first foray into the Vase. Both sides have been fortunate enough to be drawn at home but both will have their work cut out. Pinxton it could be argued, have the easier draw, getting step 6 side Nuneaton Griff (see Six of the Best feature on this site). However, Griff have been flying this season and until a few weeks back were scoring for fun. Uttoxeter will play Step 5 outfit Coleshill Town, who are currently mid-table in the Midland League Premier. It will take a big effort from these sides to progress to the Fourth Round but this is cup football and anything can happen.

There are two former FA Vase winners left in the competition, including the current holders, both from the Northern League Division 1.
Interestingly, there are no teams below Step 4 in the pyramid who have won the competition more than once.
North Shields took the trophy last season with 2-1 win over Glossop North End. They have been handed a tough draw with North West Counties Premier team Runcorn Town. However, they will be hoping that home advantage will see them through for another shot at Wembley glory. The other past winners, Dunston UTS, also have a home draw against fellow Northern League side Seaham Red Star. Again, they will be hoping that home advantage will be the key.

If we take a look at the recent FA Vase history we can see that it is, in fact, teams from the North of the country (specifically the North East) that have dominated. Since the final moved back to Wembley in the 2006-07 season 7 of the 9 winners have come from North of the Midlands. Truro City in the 2006-07 and Sholing in 2013-14 being the excceptions. During this time teams from the North-East have taken the trophy 6 times albeit three of these being consecutive victories for Whitley Bay. This, incidentally, is a record for the most consecutive wins. Three teams, Billericay Town (76/77), Halesowen Town (85/86) and Tiverton Town (98/99) have all won the competition twice consecutively. AFC Sudbury are the most unlucky Vase side having been in the final three times and losing on each occasion. This figure is compounded by the fact that AFC were formed when Sudbury Town merged with Sudbury Wanderers in 1999. Sudbury Town also lost on their one apperance in the final albeit in a replay.

So, what do we ddeduce about the 2015-16 competition from these statistics? One thing is for sure, with AFC Sudbury now playing at Step 4 level, the runners-up spot is definitely up for grabs. Recent history seems to point towards a North-East based winner but the law of averages says that it is the turn of the South to rise again. This is starting to sound like a mid 19th Century American political debate. With 54 of the remaining 64 teams being in Step 5 you would also say that they odds are heavily-stacked on an all Step 5 final. So, who are the front-runners based upon this season's form?

As holders North Shields cannot be ruled out. However, this season, they are not performing as well in the league and are currently in mid-table. There are also three other teams remaining that made it to the Quarter-final stage last season, Highworth Town, Tadcaster Albion and Ascot United. All three are having decent seasons. Tadcaster lead the way in the Northern Counties East Premier League whilst Highworth and Ascot are very well placed in the Hellenic Premier League. The question is, does league form transfer to the Vase or will these teams be more focussed on progressing up the pyramid? They have all been drawn to play fellow Step 5ers. Tadcaster travel to Sunderland RCA, Ascot entertain Camberley Town and Highworth host Wessex Premier leaders Salisbury. So, no easy tasks there.
Some notable Step 5 sides that are currently flying-high in the respective leagues are Leicester Nirvana, 8 points clear in the United Counties Premier, Hartley Wintney, 7 points ahead in the Combined Counties Premier and Hereford, who have a 6 point lead in the Midland Premier (note: these leads were correct at time of writing). Of these three only Hereford have a home tie, against Brocton, a team they have already beaten 4-0 in the league this season. Nirvana have to make the short trip to fellow Leicester side St Andrews. The Saints are a step below Nirvana but approach the game on the back of a resounding 9-1 away win in the league. They have a very tight defence and will, no doubt, be up for a local derby like this. Hartley Wintney must travel to fellow Combined Counties Premier side Colliers Wood. Despite there being 22 points between the sides in the league I am sure that this will not be an easy game for The Row.

Of the remainaing Step 6 sides not yet mentioned, South Shields, Tadley Calleva and Edgware Town all have home ties and will fancy their chances against Morpeth Town, Knaphill and Ipswich Wanderers respectively. Bodmin Town and Hengrove AThletic both face tricky trips to Western Premier League oppostion in Welton Rovers and Bristol Manor Farm.

There are many, many other good ties in the round, the all Hellenic Premier game between Thame and Kidlington, the all United Counties Premier match-up of Yaxley and Sleaford to name but two. There are too many teams to mention all of them but I am sure that there will be some great games around the country this weekend.

So, at this point of an article like this, there really should be some predictions. However, I have only seen a handful of these teams first-hand this season, so it is hard to base any prediction on fact. History points to another North-East victory and, as such, you would have to look at teams that are currently doing well in the league, Morpeth Town, Dunston UTS and maybe stretching the North-East a bit South, Tadcaster Albion (please don't write in, I am fully aware that Tadcaster is not in the North East). If the law of averages was to be obeyed and a non-North-East team was to take the trophy this year than the fore-runners on form woudl have to be
Hereford, Leicester Nirvana and Hartley Wintney.
What is certain, though, is that there will be a lot of good football along the way.

Best of luck to all teams remaining in the competition and, whoever finally prevails, you will be worthy champions.

Having just spent the best part of an hour driving North on the M40, I was soon back in the car retracing my steps and heading South to leafy Buckinghamshire. A last minute change of plan (mainly due to time constraints) had seen me drop my scheduled visit Kirby Muxloe in favour of a Red Insure Cup local derby between Marlow and Slough Town.
Having never been to the ground before, I was pleased to find that there was still a little room left in the car park when I arrived. A friendly gentleman directed me to a spot (blocking someone in) and closed the gates behind. The car park was now full. I made a note to be close to the exit at the final whistle so that I could get out and not cause a blockage to the car behind me. This idea failed miserably as it turned out.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground. This is a real old style traditional non-league stadium full of character and history. As you walk in from the car park end through the single turnstile you pass the changing rooms and officials facilities on your right. These are separated from the palying surface by a service road which, when the players are coming out or returning, is gated to allow free access. The pitch is to your left and directly in front of you, at this point, is the main stand, a rather grandiose old wooden stand set back from the playing surface and proudly displaying Marlow FC on its facia. At the far end of the ground, behind the goal, is a covered standing area and opposite the main stand is another covered standing area. The near goal, at the car park end, is just backed by hard standing. There is also another turnstile entrance to the ground at the far end, diagonally opposite the car park entrance.
So, with the stage set and the teams about to emerge, I took up a position on the far side of the ground for the first half. I was soon joined by a very friendly local who, it transpired, was a former Marlow player from some time ago. We chewed the cud about all things football, from local non-league through to international. He told me that the club was looking at building a new stadium out of the town and selling off the Alfred Hall Memorial Ground. Now, I understand that teams have to make ends meet and that prime land close to a town centre can fetch a good price but this is a piece of footballing history. This is not unique to Marlow. It is happening up and down the country and I really think that football, the community, needs to do something to prevent it from happening. Instead of ploughing countless millions back into top flight football, let's put a larger amount back into the lower leagues to save these old stadia. I am sure that these new purpose built grounds are cheaper to maintain but seriously, they have no soul, no character. Do we really want to see the likes of the Alfred Hall, Eynsham Park, Hardenhuish Park or Bell Close replaced by identikit grounds like Creasey Park (no offence Dunstable, a lovely facility, but it's a little too sterile, too clean for my liking). Rant over and on with the game.
Despite it being a cup game, Slough had what looked like a strong side out including former Marlow defender Dan Hicks returning to his old club for the first time. They were coming into the game on the back of winning the Southern Premier Team of the Month for October. Of course, true to form, they had gone on to lose their next league game. Marlow had followed up their 5-0 league win over Bashley with a comfortable 3-0 FA Trophy victory against Larkhall. So, we were all set up for a good local derby contest.
The opening salvoes were quite even before Slough began to take control of the possession. This pattern followed for the majority of the first half, Slough having the lion's share of the ball but not really threatening the home goal too much. When Marlow did attack they showed that they had enough to worry Slough. With the first half drawing to what looked like a goalless conclusion, Marlow grabbed a goal somewhat out of the blue. A ball was played down their right-flank for Marcus Mealing who steadied himself and unleashed a 25 yard dipping volley over the keeper. It was a fine effort that looked initially like it was going well over before it took a vicious dip into the net.
Pretty soon after the referee blew for half-time with Marlow still leading 1-0. I tweeted at the time that I thought it was a fairly even half, fully expecting to get some differing opinions, especially from the Slough contingent. However, what I meant was that, although Slough had much more of the ball they had rarely got a shot on target. Marlow meanwhile, had less possession but had made something of one of their chances.

Having bid farewell to my first-half companion and with the need to make a fairly sharp exit in mind, I headed back to the car park end of the ground for the second half, once again being nearer to the end that Slough would be attacking. As it turned out, this was a wise move.
However, just four minutes into the second half and it was actually the home side who scored. Once more it was a break down the right hand side and when the ball was chipped over the advancing keeper Yashwa Romeo was there to apply the simple touch over the line.
The two goal margin was not to last long though. Within a minute Slough had a goal back. Following a bit of pinball in the Marlow box the ball fell to the feet of Ryan Hope who's fairly tame shot somehow squirmed under the keeper and trickled over the line. Slough now had the bit between their teeth and the wing play of Lewis Putman on their left was causing all sorts of issues for the Marlow defence. It only took 6 minutes for the equaliser to arrive. A slip up in the home defence let in Gurkan Gokmen who saw his initial effort blocked by Iain McCulley in the home goal. However, when the ball rebounded back to Gomen he made no mistake with the second attempt. Back on level terms and there was a certain inevitability about what was to follow.
Slough were now having all of the ball and, contrary to the first half, were actually threatening the Marlow goal with almost every attack. The home defence managed to hold out for another 20 minutes but was powerless to stop yet another Putman cross eventually reaching Hope who smashed home his second and Slough's third goal.
Four minutes later and it was, effectively, game over when a low driven shot from Scott Harris flew past McCulley to make it 2-4. Then, with 6 minutes remaining, the excellent Putman got his reward for a sparkling second half performance when he collected a ball in the box and was allowed to turn and slot the ball into the far corner. There was a definite case for the initial crosser of the ball to be flagged offside but it wasn't given and the goal stood.
In the final minute of normal time Putman produced another perfect cross from the left which was met by the head Harris for his second goal of the evening. There was just injury time for Jay Welch to curl a lovely effort beyond Mark Scott but it was purely a consolation for Marlow and the game finished 3-6, with 8 of the 9 goals coming in breathless second half.
Having totally forgotten about the gates across the access road, I then found myself locked into the ground until the players had left the pitch. Unfortunately, the person parked behind me had already got out but couldn't move until I got there. So, if you were trapped behind me last night, my apologies.
Finally, if the talk of a new stadium is true and you haven't been to The Alfred Hall Memorial Ground, get out there as soon as you can before it is too late. It's too good a non-league stadium to miss out on.

Marlow FC - @marlowfc
Slough Town - @sloughtown