Manchester Walking Football February 2017
Manchester Walking Football February 2017 – Great First Session Of The Spring League
Manchester walking football February 2017 saw the first session of the Greater Manchester Over 60’s Walking Football League. On a day of unseasonable good weather, 8 teams in 2 divisions competed in what was an excellent example of what walking football should be all about.
Division 1 consisted of AFC Blackpool Senior Seasiders, Chadderton FC WF, Fleetwood Town Flyers and Rochdale Striders. Division 2 consisted of Maccabi Old Codgers, Nash Amblers, Rochdale AFC Strollers and Vintage Celtic. As this is a completely new league the divisions were drawn fairly without consideration of any teams past record. So teams allocated to Division 2 had no bearing on their ability. As the season unfolds, to coin a phrase, the cream will rise to the top.
Vintage Celtic gained the most points on the day with 7, followed by Chadderton FC WF with 5 points. Both these teams didn’t concede a goal in the first session of the league. In my opinion teams who are sound defensively always have a chance of succeeding and make a habit of grabbing the odd goal goal to win games. Although the league tables may suggest otherwise there were no weak teams playing in the league and overall it was very competitive, with little to separate all 8 teams.
The first session in this Manchester walking football February 2017 Spring league saw only 15 goals scored in the 12 matches, an average of 1.25 per game. There were four 0-0 draws, three 1-0 victories, three 1-1 draws and the biggest score of the day was a 3-1 victory for Rochdale AFC Strollers over Maccabi Old Codgers.
Chadderton FC WF top the table in Division 1 and Vintage Celtic in Division 2. Fleetwood Town Flyers will be in Division 2 in March with Vintage Celtic in division 1. Depending on the number of teams joining us in March, Rochdale AFC Strollers could also find themselves in Division 1.
Division 1 Table February 2017
Division 2 Table February 2017
All the results and tables can be seen on our FA Full Time website or on our own Fixtures, Results & Tables tab.
The 8 Teams Line Up For The Inaugural Session Of The Greater Manchester Over 60’s Walking Football League
Thanks to some excellent refereeing on the day from Alan Graham and Matt Howells, this is how real walking football should be played, with running and physical contact not being tolerated. In fact quite a number of players expressed their approval of the way the matches were conducted.
A massive thanks to Paul Gardner for organising the facility at the Heywood Sports Village, which I am sure you will agree is first class and Barry Woodburn for his administrative duties on the day.
We will constantly try to improve your experience in this new league and hope you will return in March for the second session of the Greater Manchester Over 60’s Walking Football League. We already have 3 new teams wishing to join us in March. Let’s hope we can all make this a league that shows the way in which walking football should be played.
Thanks to all the the teams who made this inaugural session possible, we hope you enjoyed the experience.
Please leave a comment below. Did you enjoy the experience, any suggestions as to how we could improve things, any complaints or indeed any compliments.
It is hoped everyone enjoyed the Manchester walking football February 2017 session and we look forward to seeing you in March. Team registration forms will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.
Excellent start Bill. There is an issue around footwear – close to my heart…and my instep. Soon resolved though I hope.
Paragraph four above? I think it was Rochdale Stroller’s who registered the biggest win of the day v Maccabi – not Chadderton. A mere detail.
Weather was very kind and the facilities were excellent, really hard to see how they might be bettered. A Portaloo by the pitches 🙂 (Joking). Great to be a part of it, a game or two more would be good, going forward. Congrats to all who organised and took part. A day to live long in the memory to be honest. I only spent fifteen minutes on the pitch but it lingers in the memory. The Nash Amblers may bring a slightly smaller squad next time but this a really good learning curve to be a part of. Will post on the forum too. Referee’s were good to very good. Some confusion around rules but that’s the most thankless job in the world and ‘encouragement’ or otherwise from the touchline doesn’t always help. Have a good holiday.
Great day Bill.
We all thoroughly enjoyed it (although we shot ourselves in the foot bringing 4 subs and weakening the team
by playing them all in rotation!!). Thought one foul against our midfield chap deserved a two minute benching penalty but otherwise the 2 refs were firm, fair and consistent.
Worth the long journey, but would be nice to get 4 games in (hopefully if numbers increase). Paul was talking about using 3/4 pitches at a future stage.
Looking forward to March and a Summer Over 65’s should be well worth a punt. Well organised, well run and a friendly day out in the end at “Last of the Summer Wine, Boys Behaving Badly’s Match of the Day”.
Cheers
Steve H (AFC Blackpool)