Needham Market v. Dulwich Hamlet, 23rd April 2016

[Thimble Queen]

Thin-skinned vanity is a strong feature of my online, and IRL, personal brand.

Can't believe it's nearly the end of the season and we've not seen you for ages. Might you show face at the playoffs (fingers crossed we make it, of course).

 

[Joe K]

Can't believe it's nearly the end of the season and we've not seen you for ages. Might you show face at the playoffs (fingers crossed we make it, of course).

I definitely won't be at the final; there's an outside chance I'd come to Bognor for the semi although I'm meant to be taking a load of Swedish people walking in the Downs that afternoon. Tbh I'm having one of my rests from football, connecting with it predominantly through my distant enjoyment of Darlington (most likely) winning the Northern Premier League. I reckon I'll re-emerge unpredictably a month or so into next season.

 

[Thimble Queen]

I definitely won't be at the final; there's an outside chance I'd come to Bognor for the semi although I'm meant to be taking a load of Swedish people walking in the Downs that afternoon. Tbh I'm having one of my rests from football, connecting with it predominantly through my distant enjoyment of Darlington (most likely) winning the Northern Premier League. I reckon I'll re-emerge unpredictably a month or so into next season.

I heard that Swedish people love football.

 

[Joe K]

I heard that Swedish people love football.

Actually, scratch that - thought the semi-final was on the Wednesday. Absolutely no chance of making it on the Thursday.

(Many Swedish people love football, it seems, but none have been even remotely interested in my suggestion that we have a trip to watch a non-league game at Lewes or Worthing - the big draw of England football-wise for most of them seems to be that Arsenal play here. 'We have enough bad football in Sweden' seems to be the consensus, and, given I've watched Swedish second division games in which [insert Ash Carew/ Ryan Moss according to your personal creed] would look like Zinedine Zidane, I can kind of see their point.)

 

[Thimble Queen]

Joe K fair. Although they obviously have no idea what they're missing with Dulwich

 

[Lo Siento.]

Grew up 2 miles down the road, can confirm that Needham Market is very pretty, the pubs are quiet, regular boozers (if there's not been gentrified since I last went) of which the Rampant Horse is the best and the bar in The Limes Hotel is usually the liveliest. A lot of squaddies and their families live there, as I discovered to my cost at a thoroughly disastrous Stop the War "happening" in about 2005.

 

[Cyclodunc]

The curry house by the station was the only place I could get a take-away from when I grew up nearby (bar fish and chip shops). They make a mighty fine curry

 

[Thimble Queen]

The curry house by the station was the only place I could get a take-away from when I grew up nearby (bar fish and chip shops). They make a mighty fine curry

Is there anywhere to eat near the ground? My experience of non-league food recently hasn't been the best. I mean those brentwood burgers

 

[Cyclodunc]

Is there anywhere to eat near the ground? My experience of non-league food recently hasn't been the best. I mean those brentwood burgers

It's a 10 minute walk to the ground, and the station is on the high street which has things like butchers, sandwich shops etc. The chippy near the station isn't great. There is another one elsewhere that is better.

 

[blueheaven]

Is there anywhere to eat near the ground? My experience of non-league food recently hasn't been the best. I mean those brentwood burgers

The "food" at Wingate & Finchley was the worst I've ever experienced at a football match, by a long, long way. It's put me right off buying stuff to eat inside grounds.

 

[Thimble Queen]

It's a 10 minute walk to the ground, and the station is on the high street which has things like butchers, sandwich shops etc. The chippy near the station isn't great. There is another one elsewhere that is better.

Cool thanks.

The "food" at Wingate & Finchley was the worst I've ever experienced at a football match, by a long, long way. It's put me right off buying stuff to eat inside grounds.

Can't have been as bad as brentwood burger. More than one person had the shits as a result.

 

[editor]

The "food" at Wingate & Finchley was the worst I've ever experienced at a football match, by a long, long way. It's put me right off buying stuff to eat inside grounds.

As a veggie there's rarely anything I can eat anyway, so I always make sure I've eaten before I get to a non league ground!

 

[DonkeyAssessor]

I must say how impressed I was with the burgers at Imber court last season. If one of the unfortunate animals in the adjacent stables had met its demise, it was very tasty.

 

[mick mccartney]

well , with your nom de plume , you should know !

 

[DonkeyAssessor]

well , with your nom de plume , you should know !

Thoroughbred from Thames Ditton mate, didn't give me the trots either .

Couple of donkeys in Staines Town's defence a couple of months ago, that I wouldn't have liked to have had to eat.

 

[Needham fan]

Hi all. The food at our ground is good - usual football fare, but not had any complaints. Burgers not up to Dulwich standard, but neither is the price! Station Yard has the aforementioned Curry Inn, plus 2 Chinese takeaways and a very good burger / kebab shop. There's a chippy just across the road. Nearest pubs to the ground (all less than 10 mins walk) are Rampant Horse, with its own Calvors lager, the Swan (Greene King) and the Limes, which is a hotel with a small public bar at the front. Three Tuns and the Lion are a bit further away. I wouldn't really recommend any over the others as it depends on your taste.

Of course, we would prefer you to eat and drink at the ground, but if you are bringing 200+ there might be a delay if you all arrive at the same time! I expect you are used to that - I was queueing 4 deep at your place 10 minutes before half time.....

Hope the weather is good, as we have an outside area with tables to avoid everyone crowding into the cluhouse

 

[DonkeyAssessor]

.................... Nearest pubs to the ground (all less than 10 mins walk) are Rampant Horse,

No comment !

From the perspective of how much effort Brentwood and yourselves needed to put in to get promoted to this league, it’s rather a pity that at least one of you has gone immediately straight back down.

Hope you stay up (but obviously not at our expense).

 

[Scutta]

but neither is the price!

WAHEEY!

 

[Dulwich Mishi]

I actually moaned about the prices of our burgers, initially.
But they are actually worth the money you pay for, if you stick to the £5 option.

Ours are tasty, cooked properly & don't give any sort of indigestion, lime many 'traditional, but cheaper' football fare does.

I think of it as not £5 a burger, but paying £1.50 extra for a really decent, big one.

 

[Pink Panther]

No comment !

From the perspective of how much effort Brentwood and yourselves needed to put in to get promoted to this league, it’s rather a pity that at least one of you has gone immediately straight back down.

Hope you stay up (but obviously not at our expense).

I don't think too many Hamlet fans who went to Brentwood last week will be sorry to see them go straight back down. Furthermore while Needham (and second placed Harlow) accrued over 100 points in last season's Division 1 North, Brentwood fluked it up from fourth place with a much lower points total, so it's not so surprising they weren't really geared up to surviving at Premier Division level with their small crowds, and three changes of manager since last summer can't have helped much either.

 

[DonkeyAssessor]

I don't think too many Hamlet fans who went to Brentwood last week will be sorry to see them go straight back down. Furthermore while Needham (and second placed Harlow) accrued over 100 points in last season's Division 1 North, Brentwood fluked it up from fourth place with a much lower points total, so it's not so surprising they weren't really geared up to surviving at Premier Division level with their small crowds, and three changes of manager since last summer can't have helped much either.

Fair comments . It was Harlow I was thinking of when I posted ( and hadn't checked the archives.) Wrong town. My memory plays tricks when I think of play offs last season. Perhaps not surprising how long they took to complete.

 

[DonkeyAssessor]

well , with your nom de plume , you should know !

Perhaps this is a good time to clarify that my metaphorical “nom de plume” was inspired by hearing many shouts of “ee-aw, ee- aw, ee-awt to have done better with that !” , and not by culinary taste !

 

[Pink Panther]

Fair comments . It was Harlow I was thinking of when I posted ( and hadn't checked the archives.) Wrong town. My memory plays tricks when I think of play offs last season. Perhaps not surprising how long they took to complete.

Harlow are in the play-offs again this season, and are probably the best of a bad bunch in terms of enhancing next season's Premier Division, the alternatives being Thurrock, Hornchurch and Cray. Joe 'The Tank' Benjamin has banged in four goals in 43 appearances according to the stats on Footballwebpages:

Harlow Town | Appearances
Harlow Town | Goalscorers

Harlow is a grim Post-War new town and they have a 3G pitch at a modern ground around a mile from Harlow Town station. Their average attendance of 242 is third best in the division:

Ryman League Division One North | Attendances

 

[Thimble Queen]

Hi all. The food at our ground is good - usual football fare, but not had any complaints. Burgers not up to Dulwich standard, but neither is the price! Station Yard has the aforementioned Curry Inn, plus 2 Chinese takeaways and a very good burger / kebab shop. There's a chippy just across the road. Nearest pubs to the ground (all less than 10 mins walk) are Rampant Horse, with its own Calvors lager, the Swan (Greene King) and the Limes, which is a hotel with a small public bar at the front. Three Tuns and the Lion are a bit further away. I wouldn't really recommend any over the others as it depends on your taste.

Of course, we would prefer you to eat and drink at the ground, but if you are bringing 200+ there might be a delay if you all arrive at the same time! I expect you are used to that - I was queueing 4 deep at your place 10 minutes before half time.....

Hope the weather is good, as we have an outside area with tables to avoid everyone crowding into the cluhouse

Great info thanks

 

[Scutta]

I actually moaned about the prices of our burgers, initially.
But they are actually worth the money you pay for, if you stick to the £5 option.

Ours are tasty, cooked properly & don't give any sort of indigestion, lime many 'traditional, but cheaper' football fare does.

I think of it as not £5 a burger, but paying £1.50 extra for a really decent, big one.

If im gonna destroy the planet I want to do it cheaply

Sorry Hipsters, Grass-Fed Beef is Just as Bad for the Environment as Grain-Fed

 

[Lucy Fur]

Soo PP's suggestion of going via Stratford seems the cheepest, (17.50) so who's coming by train?

 

[Scutta]

Soo PP's suggestion of going via Stratford seems the cheepest, (17.50) so who's coming by train?

BUS

 

[Lucy Fur]

BUS

 

[Pink Panther]

BUS

FULL STEAM AHEAD!

 

[GregDHFC]

If im gonna destroy the planet I want to do it cheaply

Sorry Hipsters, Grass-Fed Beef is Just as Bad for the Environment as Grain-Fed

Interesting, but ruined by the fact it was clearly written by someone's headteacher. This section is particularly cringe:

That simple fact is reason enough not to eat them, but even if it’s not at least the hipsters have been put on notice that no matter where their burgers came from or how fancy a bun they’re served on, they certainly can’t up their “eco-conscious” cred. If they’re really concerned about looking “cool,” they should really opt for something like this plant-based Korean Kimchi BBQ Burger—looks pretty hip to us!

You can just imagine how they say "cool" so you can hear the quotation marks!