Everyone who follows a specific football team, even the most fanatical and obsessive of fans, will admit to having a second favourite that they like to keep an eye on when the results come out.
It could be because of a family connection, a place where you use to live or just out of a strong sense of supporting an underdog.
In my case that second stringer has changed a few times.
The first team that I supported as a child was, of course, one of the big six in the English League. I knew at that early age that it was important even in the Junior School Playground to belong to one of the Peer Groups based on footie.
In the 1970's my first choice team won just about everything going domestically and in Europe and although glorious and affirming I must admit that the success was, well, just a little bit boring.
So I chose a smaller, lower league team and their ups and downs, trials and tribulations in any one season gave that essential edginess and unpredictability to sustain interest across the whole season from August to the following May.
As I moved around the country with my family I maintained allegiance to the same top team but latched onto a local team as well which led me to adopt the likes of Ipswich Town, Scunthorpe United and latterly, North Ferriby United.
North Ferriby who?
Yes, they are a non-league team from a well to do commuter village to the west of Hull. Home games are on a compact ground bounded by a railway line, sewage works and private housing. In many respects they are no different to hundreds of part-time, amateur and casual weekend teams across the UK and indeed on a wider global catchment.
North Ferriby United ,however, more than most epitomise the spirit and endeavour of grass roots football. They overachieved massively for their lowly status with an honours list including League Titles as they climbed up the hierarchy of the game and peaking in the 2014-2015 season with a Wembley victory in the FA Trophy Competition. They were on the fringes of the Football League in 2016 but then everything seemed to go wrong, on and off the pitch
As of yesterday, 15th March 2019 they ceased to exist, mid campaign, under a Winding Up Order.
Many teams of infinitely more funding and resources have teetered on the edge of Insolvency.
That precarious financial position can be down to a number of contributing factors borne out of unrealistic expectations, vanity, poor ownership and management.
I do not intend to get into the nitty-gritty of the events and personalities as these are documented well enough in the North Ferriby United Fanzine Twitter Feed.
As well as following their results, typically on a Saturday afternoon, I did attend a handful of games although these were mainly the pre-season Billy Bly Trophy match where North Ferriby United took on Hull City.
At one such match I was privileged to be seated in the Executive Box as one of my friends, a resident of the village was the match ball sponsor. The VIP area was not much more than a breeze-block bus shelter and accessible only by walking with a sideways stance around the narrow clearance to the pitch- side. Granted, it faced north and so there was no squinting into the sun on what was usually a balmy summer evening. I sat next to Howard Wilkinson, former Leeds United Manager and at that time, I think, in charge of the England Under 21's as he watched his son play.
Today's match in the Evo Stik Premier Division North, the eight tier of the hierarchy of English Football, against Bamber Bridge in Lancashire is postponed because of the off pitch issues.
No Official comment has been made but the fate of North Ferriby United should send a shiver through the whole of the professional and amateur game.
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