Commentators Comments

Trust members Rob Farnworth and Rob Moruzzi both do a sterling job of providing online match action for the subscribers to Silkmenworld. With the Trust hoping to help them with sponsorship for an equipment upgrade in the future, what exactly goes into providing matchday comms?

Walsall 0-1 Silkmen

It is a year now since we answered the plea on the official website for someone, anyone, to provide match commentaries for Silkmenworld. A little less like' innocents abroad' but with our amateur status still intact we set off for Walsall and an FA Cup replay on a wet Tuesday night in November.

Had it not been dark our car would have been spotted because of the dark grey cloud that hovered above it as we dawdled along the busy M6. Our usual and well practiced ability to bounce back from a defeat had failed to kick in following the grim home defeat against Boston. We found ourselves staring into the abyss and its name was Walsall.

As we joined the rest of the press, local radio and assorted broadcasters in the impressive Betscott Stadium our mood was lifted by a chance meeting with Bashir Alkhadi, club owner and John Askey, legend. Bashar entertained us by recounting that he had listened into our kick by kick accounts from such exotic locations as Cameroon and Senegal. We were impressed that while he may have been physically in Africa his heart was at an away match in Mansfield. John Askey gave us the inside track on the team set up and our spirits lifted as we set up for the game.

As if to prove that football is indeed "a funny old game" we found ourselves describing a Silkmen side who were matching the league leaders having only days earlier been squashed by lowly Boston. With only six minutes to play and after a brief 'crossbar challenge' Jimmy Mcnulty stabbed the ball over the line and computer speakers rattled to the shout of "GOAL"! The Macc press corps cheered and then settled on edge of seat to describe the last tortuous minutes of the game.

As relief came with the final whistle we saw the burden of successive draws and defeats lift from the shoulders of the players. With new found energy they ran to join the celebrations of the stalwart travelling Macc fans. Paul Ince ran up the steps of the stand and nearly bowled over a senior Walsall fan. In compensation she received a kiss and a hurried beaming apology. Staff and directors hugged and laughed and we were reminded that we are all fans at heart.

Our post match interview came from Ray Mathias, the assistant coach. Ray demonstrated his experience and knowledge of the game in his thoughtful answers, while demonstrating that a Cheshire Cat grin extends to the Wirral.

And so as we drove home, the journey shortened by an unexpected victory, we again rehearsed the game kick by kick. And this time, had it not been dark, our car would have been spotted because the sun was shining inside.

Trips to Torquay and Chelsea

If variety is the spice of life then the contrast between our two recent away trips to Torquay and Chelsea must rate as a vindaloo. Both long journeys and important games, but beyond that, these hosts could hardly be more different.

Plainmoor on a wet and windy December afternoon is not a setting to entice the armchair football supporter onto the terraces. When I arrived there, two hours before kick off, it was deserted. Driven rainwater cascaded from the roof of the ancient stand onto the pitch side. The groundsman looked like he had the weight of the world upon his sodden shoulders. The ref had asked him to retouch the line in front of the dugout but it was under two inches of water. The game was touch and go to be abandoned, or maybe re-touch and go.

The journey to Devon had been a difficult one. A phone call from Macclesfield's webmaster, Rob Macdonald, had relayed the news that Torquay would not provide a telephone line for me to broadcast to the Internet. As I was already nearing Bristol at this time I elected to continue South. A couple more hurried calls and the odds on a commentary hitting the internet lengthened. "We never provide a line," said the lady from Torquay.

Much of football support is an act of faith and it is the same with commentary. My early arrival allowed me to check every socket and eventually radio Devon helped me out by showing me the one that the "web guys always use" The buzz around the press box was very gloomy. Their team was in chaos and the Chairman preoccupied with the fantasy of a multi-million pound stadium including hotels, a leisure complex and bowling rinks. I was beginning to sense a win.

Victory has to be earned though and even up in the press box it was a battle. The squally wind deposited anything not taped down onto the floor. The rain and wind whistled in and I and the Silkmen did our best in what are often described as 'difficult conditions'. A late goal from Dave Morley gave us the three points and encouraged me to smile through chattering teeth.

Ordeal over I rang Rob, nestled in the glowing warmth of his festive family home. I knew he had listened in and I awaited feedback. I knew that I had been more fluent in the second half but so had the football. I thought that I could have described the goal better, but you always can. What I hadn't expected was the news that he could hardly hear a word that I had said! The combination of wind rain and our equipment had reduced the transmission quality from poor to abysmal.

So after driving two hundred and fifty miles, ignoring the news that my journey was pointless, blagging a line, and delivering a solo commentary in a howling gale, it seems that I was also inaudible.

The good news is this will not happen again. With the help of the Silkmen Trust we have purchased a mobile broadcasting kit that we hope will provide crystal clear quality. We also hope to gain the facility of broadcasting via a mobile phone so that we are not entirely dependent on the facilities provided by host clubs. A good example of how the Trust can help to bring the club and the community closer together.

We decided not to provide commentary from Stamford Bridge within minutes of the third round draw. We had a day out on the coach with facepaint and flags among friends, family and fellow fans. We had a day in dreamland and as I passed the megastore and the two hotels I wondered if the Torquay chairman was also there thinking 'one-day Plainmoor will be just like this.'