The Bottom Corner by Nige Tassell

Author:Nige Tassell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2016-08-22T04:00:00+00:00

1.15 pm

With his broadcasting duties done for now, Dan Walker joins the referee on that third inspection. The presenter returns to the touchline and the signs don’t look good. Everything might seem fine from a distance of eighty yards away, but Walker reveals that while he was over in the far corner, he actually sank an inch into the ground when just standing still. The concern shows in his eyes; like Mark Chapman, for him this is one of the season’s red-letter days.

‘I grew up watching non-league football,’ he reveals. ‘Crawley Town in the Dr Martens Premier. I love it. It feels earthy, it feels real. It’s the noise, it’s the Bovril, it’s the smell of a pie that’s been there a week and a half. I feel that people who support Arsenal or Manchester City or Manchester United – not that there’s anything wrong with that – miss out on the passion and that real feeling that you’re involved with something that is hugely important to a small community. To people who moan about football, shut up and go to watch a local non-league side. Even if it’s a 0-0, I guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself.’

Walker is also a fierce advocate of the importance of the FA Cup to the non-league game – and of the televising of these delightfully mismatched David vs Goliath clashes. ‘There’s a huge appetite for them. When we did the First Round – Salford City against Notts County – three and a half million people watched that game. That’s a million more than watched Manchester United against Liverpool on Sky. So don’t tell me that no one cares about the FA Cup. They do. The Third Round has been something so intrinsically linked to football for generations and hopefully will be in the future.’

The rain has relented for more than an hour but, at 1.27 pm, three minutes before the gates are scheduled to open, the referee is still in conference with his assistants in the troublesome far corner. Then, just as the deadline approaches, the three of them stride across towards the touchline where 100 or so players, officials, broadcasters and journalists have gathered. He’s made his decision. A single thumb raised. A collective sigh of relief. Game on.

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