From Seventy Five Thousand to 75 in 48 hours

On Sunday I was at Wembley , to watch the football (soccer), to see the debacle that was Bolton Wanderers getting beat in the FA Cup Semi Final

48 hours later, still upset by the defeat, I went to see Arnold Town play Scarborough in the Northern Counties Eastern League.

Wembley had 75,000 football fans inside the stadium, whereas Arnold Town had approx 75 fans at the football match.

I took my Panosonic Lumix to grab a few decent pictures, however I made a big mistake !! I left my batterty charging at home !!

So todays picture is a grab shot from my mobile phone.

If you ccompare todays picture with Sunday's you will see the massive gulf between English Premier Football and non league football.

http://365project.org/phil_howcroft/365/2011-04-17

As for this game Arnold Town lost 4-3 !

[Judith Greenwood]

'Bout the same standard though ;0) Just kidding!!

[andy c]

is that the same Scarborough that was once in the league??? If so... blimey... they've really fallen through the trap door...

[Kerri]

Great shot

[Sue Beatty]

Thank goodness for mobiles :-) Great shot.

[Sarah Horsfall]

That's quite a contrast between the two shots! Much closer to the action in this one, though :o)

[peter/zipp]

...well, this is the Proper League anyway.
I think the Championship this season has been excellent and interseting -
Prem has had its moments to be fair, but its still not the same, and will forever be a money league now..

Still wanna get promoted mind.

[Phil Howcroft]

@judithg Judith, many a true word spoke in jest. It was a more enjoyable game than Sunday :)

[Phil Howcroft]

@andycoleborn they are a supporters trust club founded when Scarborough went bust ....FYI (from Wikipedia). ...Scarborough Athletic Football Club were formed on 25 June 2007 following the winding up of Scarborough. Although they bear the name of Scarborough, they ground-share with Bridlington Town. Scarborough Athletic play in the Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division.

Scarborough Athletic hope to return to their hometown from their temporary base at Bridlington for the season 2014–15

[Phil Howcroft]

@kerristephens cheers Kerri , thanks :)

[Phil Howcroft]

@sueb Indeed Sue, although my mobile did struggle in the low light !

[Phil Howcroft]

@sarahhorsfall Sarah, it is a big contrast, the official atendance was 137, which is a big attendance for Arnold. The increase (about +50) due to a sizeable following from Scarborough

[Phil Howcroft]

@sleepdozer57 Peter, thanks for commenting, the Prem is a good place to be , but you have to put up with prima donna footballers, overpaid footballers, ko time changes due to TV...actually it's not that good a place to be !!

I suppose it's good for Bolton to be in the Prem because we are a small club, unfashionable, who have punched above our own weight for 11 years and upset a few teams on the way. The 'Megson Years' are best forgotten though for the awful football we played !!

[Juliette Packham]

cool shot - there is something nice about these lineside matches. DOh to the battery dead - I now carry 4 with me just in case!

[Constance Brinkley]

Well at least you had your camera phone! What a great day to see two games and what different games. Glad you got a shot in despite the camera battery!

[Gill]

Wow! What a different image after Wembley. Shame about your battery but I really like this. It's calmer, it feels more human and the lighting is lovely.

[Phil Howcroft]

@sparkle Thank you Juliette, line side matches, nice description, yes I was gutted about the battery !

[Phil Howcroft]

@seattle Thanks Constance, football is called the beautiful game over here....the setting of this match is quite nice with the gentle hills in the background

[Phil Howcroft]

@gill Thanks Gill, the little camera phone was really struggling, it was dusk and the floodlights had not yet come on, but i managed to recover a decent image in photoshop elements just by messing about with adjusting highlights and contrat and a tad of saturation boost. No messing with layers, just a few slider bar movements :)

[Jennifer C]

Nice soccer pitch with the canola fields in the background. The ew Wembley Stadium must be pretty impressive even if your team was thrashed!

[Jennifer]

Nice shot Phil, You captured the mood on the field very well!

[Frances Chaloner]

It may not be top league, but it wins by leagues on the scenery stakes! Wembly 0 Arnold 10!

[Allison Williams]

You are clearly a true fan of the sport. I think you did a great job with your camera phone, getting such a panorama of the field. As for the dreaded forgotten battery charger. I always keep a 2nd (charged) battery in my camera bag for moments like that.

[Phil Howcroft]

@whippeteer Frances, ha ha , good line Wembley 0 Arnold 10 :)