Merley Utd FC
I've always enjoyed playing and watching football. It was probably whilst I was at Hamworthy Middle School that I really got into the sport. We had a football team and I played at left-back. (Of course, the concept of player 'positions' at that age is very tenuous - picture 20 small children just running around after the ball). Actually, make that 22. I don't think the goalkeepers knew what they were doing either.
I was never very strong, but I was quick and I was fit. It was just disappointing that when I went to Seldown Secondary School, there was no inter-schools football anymore, so I couldn't play. A four year barren spell. (Of course, I still played 'down the park' with jumpers for goalsposts.)
In the Summer of 1993, I was working at 'Sowester' in Poole. A company that provided equipment for the marine trade. Most of the job involved wrapping and dispatching orders that constantly flowed in. We used old newspapers to do a lot of the wrapping, including the free local 'Advertiser' newspaper. It was as I was wrapping some ship compass or something, that I noticed a small advert, asking for football players for Merley Football Club, to bolster their squad. I rang them up and then turned up for my first training session/trial on 21st July 1993.
The image below is the only one I have of myself in the team. I think it's from the 1994/5 season.
I was never very strong, but I was quick and I was fit. It was just disappointing that when I went to Seldown Secondary School, there was no inter-schools football anymore, so I couldn't play. A four year barren spell. (Of course, I still played 'down the park' with jumpers for goalsposts.)
In the Summer of 1993, I was working at 'Sowester' in Poole. A company that provided equipment for the marine trade. Most of the job involved wrapping and dispatching orders that constantly flowed in. We used old newspapers to do a lot of the wrapping, including the free local 'Advertiser' newspaper. It was as I was wrapping some ship compass or something, that I noticed a small advert, asking for football players for Merley Football Club, to bolster their squad. I rang them up and then turned up for my first training session/trial on 21st July 1993.
The image below is the only one I have of myself in the team. I think it's from the 1994/5 season.
L-R Kristian Barnes, Lee Homer, Jason West, Nigel Legge, Lee Fisher, Matt Jewison, Steve Murray, Tony, Me!, Steve Turner, Lee Walker, Dave Mccay
Our Pitch
Our home ground was called 'Fenners' and was just off 'Rempstone Road' in Merley (just off Queene Anne Drive).
What I loved about it, was it's size. Fenners was MASSIVE. It is by far the biggest pitch I have ever played on (including Anfield). On misty mornings, if you were stood at one end of it, it was sometimes tricky to see the other goal. I remember one match where it was foggy, and we all went it for half time, but the keeper was still on the pitch!
After several years, the council decided to shorten the length of it by about 25 feet. Despite this, it was still the biggest pitch in the league by a mile. This huge pitch size was our 'home advantage'. Teams used to arrive and often gasp when they emerged through the bushes and spotted it!
UPDATE: Yesterday, (3rd May 2020), I cycled back up to Fenners Field to take a look again. Football has not been played there for a long time, but in certain places I could still make out some of the line markings. I took the liberty of using my iPhone to carefully measure the pitch again. The dimensions I got were:
Length: (in it's more 'recent' shortened form): Almost exactly 100 metres (or 328 feet). This precisely equals the measurement I got from visually measuring it via Google Earth many years ago! (See below).
Width: 51 metres (or 167 feet)
A very impressive size!
Our home ground was called 'Fenners' and was just off 'Rempstone Road' in Merley (just off Queene Anne Drive).
What I loved about it, was it's size. Fenners was MASSIVE. It is by far the biggest pitch I have ever played on (including Anfield). On misty mornings, if you were stood at one end of it, it was sometimes tricky to see the other goal. I remember one match where it was foggy, and we all went it for half time, but the keeper was still on the pitch!
After several years, the council decided to shorten the length of it by about 25 feet. Despite this, it was still the biggest pitch in the league by a mile. This huge pitch size was our 'home advantage'. Teams used to arrive and often gasp when they emerged through the bushes and spotted it!
UPDATE: Yesterday, (3rd May 2020), I cycled back up to Fenners Field to take a look again. Football has not been played there for a long time, but in certain places I could still make out some of the line markings. I took the liberty of using my iPhone to carefully measure the pitch again. The dimensions I got were:
Length: (in it's more 'recent' shortened form): Almost exactly 100 metres (or 328 feet). This precisely equals the measurement I got from visually measuring it via Google Earth many years ago! (See below).
Width: 51 metres (or 167 feet)
A very impressive size!
Back at this time, I was as fit as a butcher's dog. Lee Walker (front row, far right) became my strike partner and we traded being 'top goalscorer' season after season. As one opposing team defender once shouted...'They're like a couple of GAZELLE'S' !! Most amusing.
I played for Merley for around 7 seasons before they ultimately disbanded. I did used to love those half-time oranges....quite apt for our kit too. Also, on cold, cold Sunday morning, George (our manager) or one of the lovely ladies who helped us, had a flask of hot coffee. I used to enjoy a sip of warm drink!
For your amusement, below are two aerial images. The one on the left is of 'Fenners'. The one on the right is Anfield.
The line I have measured on my old pitch extends beyond the current position, since the council shortened the pitch by around 25 feet. So by my reckoning, our pitch was 348 feet long in its prime. Even in it's shortened state, it reaches 328 feet long - about the same length as Anfield is today.
I have always found football pitch sizes quite interesting. For example, the rulebook states that the width of a pitch can be anywhere between 50 - 100 yards in length! In Sunday league football, pitches certainly do vary considerably. On some grounds I have played on, the penalty 'area' ended about 3 feet from the touchlines. This meant that any attacking throw-in, was like a corner, (especially for Lee Walker who could lob them in like Rory Delap.)
I played for Merley for around 7 seasons before they ultimately disbanded. I did used to love those half-time oranges....quite apt for our kit too. Also, on cold, cold Sunday morning, George (our manager) or one of the lovely ladies who helped us, had a flask of hot coffee. I used to enjoy a sip of warm drink!
For your amusement, below are two aerial images. The one on the left is of 'Fenners'. The one on the right is Anfield.
The line I have measured on my old pitch extends beyond the current position, since the council shortened the pitch by around 25 feet. So by my reckoning, our pitch was 348 feet long in its prime. Even in it's shortened state, it reaches 328 feet long - about the same length as Anfield is today.
I have always found football pitch sizes quite interesting. For example, the rulebook states that the width of a pitch can be anywhere between 50 - 100 yards in length! In Sunday league football, pitches certainly do vary considerably. On some grounds I have played on, the penalty 'area' ended about 3 feet from the touchlines. This meant that any attacking throw-in, was like a corner, (especially for Lee Walker who could lob them in like Rory Delap.)
Fenners size
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Anfield size
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The other slightly amusing thing about our home ground, were the facilities. - There weren't any!
Our ground had no permanent changing rooms, certainly no stand or anything, no proper toilets and no running water. Just a little portacabin with a beaten up 'port-a-loo' outside. Consequently, I think most teams were put off before they even got changed! (Another slight home-advantage!)
Our ground had no permanent changing rooms, certainly no stand or anything, no proper toilets and no running water. Just a little portacabin with a beaten up 'port-a-loo' outside. Consequently, I think most teams were put off before they even got changed! (Another slight home-advantage!)
After Merley disbanded (mainly because 'George', our awesome coach, called it a day) - many of us were not finished with regular competitive football and so moved on to other local teams. I moved on to 'Marconi', another local team who happened to have the best quality pitch in the league. It was as flat and true as a billiard table and immaculately maintained. Although overall, I fared pretty well with injuries over the years (I got a few concussions, rolled my ankles right over a few times, but never broke any bones or anything) - I ultimately called time on my playing days for Marconi after two or three seasons. I ruptured my Anterior Cruciate Ligament during a home match in 2003. It went off like a gun shot (I'm talking about the noise it made!) Funnily enough, I crawled off the pitch and then after a few mins, ran back on again and collapsed again! (I say 'funnily' in a very loose sense.)
Since that time, I played 6 a-side at the Littledown Centre in Bournemouth for many years. Then I moved on to playing at the Hamworthy Club every Sunday. My recent operation on my right knee may have ended my football playing days though unfortunately. I wish they would hurry up with this Stem Cell stuff! Just inject a few into my knee and hey presto!
Since that time, I played 6 a-side at the Littledown Centre in Bournemouth for many years. Then I moved on to playing at the Hamworthy Club every Sunday. My recent operation on my right knee may have ended my football playing days though unfortunately. I wish they would hurry up with this Stem Cell stuff! Just inject a few into my knee and hey presto!
