Manchopper in…Gatley (Cavaliers FC)

Result: Cavaliers 0-7 AFC Monton (Manchester League Division 2)

Venue: William Scholes Playing Fields (Saturday 16th April 2022; 1pm)

Att: 12 (hc)

So for the second of the three games over this Easter weekend, I’d again be staying local and visiting a club who’ve gained quite a fair bit of recoginition of late…though likely not for the reasons they’d quite like. You see, Cavaliers have been getting hammered on a fairly regular basis – so much so that it came to the attention of Specsavers and, not one to miss an opportunity, Jimmy Bullard has been around the club too, off the back of this.

However, any publicity is good publicity at this level and, although I’d been aware of the fact Cavs had planned to play out of the William Scholes for a while, their plight made them all the more attractive to me. No, not because of the regular batterings, but because they haven’t given up, like so many in their position have, but they have continued on, tried to power on through their struggles, rather akin to St. Martin’s in the North West Counties. Props to these kind of clubs, it’s so easy just to throw the towel in, so not to do so is commendable.

The fact they have kept on going has yielded four points so far this season. Yes, they are still bottom of the table, but they are level on points with second-bottom Breightmet United, so they certainly aren’t as awful as things may seem…at least I hoped they weren’t! The 16-0 defeat in midweek did temper my expectations somewhat, but I was hoping for a fairly competitive game, nonetheless. So, I set my sights on Gatley and this 1pm kick-off – which I only found out was that time on my way there. Phew!

Parrswood

Barlow Croft

I initially jumped off at East Didsbury station, just one stop short of Gatley, as I wanted to finally tick-off the Parrswood Wetherspoons – The Gateway. There was also another pub, a Greene King offering titled the Barlow Croft, nearby and so I thought it’d be rude not to pop in there as well. As such, having hopped off at the station, I cut through the gardened area in the midst of the busy intersection at Parrswood and entered into the Barlow Croft for a fine, cold pint of Peroni (£5.25). A solid start to the day!

From here, it was time to navigate half of the footbridge pver the road and head on down to The Gateway. Here, I opted for a pint of Corona (£3.29), whilst taking in the décor, which was largely focused on the areas transportation history. A few City fans were populating a table in here too and were beginning their, ultimately forgettable, footballing day with the City women’s game vs West Ham on the TV. However, I’d only be here for the first ten minutes or so of that game, before it was time to nip over the other half of the bridge and return back to the station for the few minutes onwards journey to Gatley.

Gatley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester. It lies within the historic boundaries of the county of Cheshire and was mentioned in 1290 under the name of Gateclyve – when it was no more than a hamlet in Stockport Etchells. The name comes from the Middle English, meaning ‘place where goats are kept’. Right through until the 20th century, Gatley’s residents were largely workers within the material trades, including loom weaving and textiles, as well as being home to a notable industry of button making, or were a part of the farming communities.

Back in the 17th century, the area operated under an ‘open field system’, but this practice of common farming began to come to an end when William Tatton allowed for tenants to purchase their own farming land. The part of Gatley known as Gatley Carrs was the lower half of the village, which was largely marshy running out towards the River Mersey and Northenden. Before that, it supplied some of the required materials for basket making and for fencing/housing. But in the 1800’s, 1,000 poplar trees were planted in the Carrs by a Mr. Worthington, of Sharston Hall.

Gatley

During the English Civil War, the Tatton family backed the Royalist cause and nearby Wythenshawe Hall was kept in a constant state of defence from 1642, in response to the nearby basing of Parliamentarian troops in Handforth and Dukinfield. However, the hall was taken by the Roundhead forces in 1644. The second Civil War also found its way to Gatley, with a group of Jacobite troops, under Bonnie Prince Charlie, crossing the Gatley Carrs and Gatley Ford, as they made their way from Stockport towards the place their advance was held: Derby. However, they’d be back just two weeks later, as they retreated back northwards.

Local residents joined the Luddite riots in 1818, but apparently didn’t achieve much in the way of distinction. They, too, utilised the Carrs to drill upon, before making their way to Stockport to take arms from the soldiers, but they failed in this attempt. A year later, soldiers came to Gatley with the intention to arrest the ringleaders of the local uprising, but most escaped. By the middle of the 18th century, the Carrs had begun to be drained to allow for farming and this later led to the allowing for the railways to run through it, with a line linking Altrincham to Stockport being built here in 1864.

Before this, Gatley became the site of a William Roscoe-built factory near the 18th-century Gatley Hall, which focussed on hand weaving. It was later converted into a farmhouse, as the expansion of industrial manufacturers in the 19th century began to render the industry itself in Gatley – including each of its previously popular weaving, spinning, shoemaking and fustian cutting industries.

Gatley

Prior to 1086, Gatley was probably unpopulated and part of the Etchells area, this meaning “extra cleared land”. After 1086, the area was split between two local landowners and for a period Gatley Brook (the old hundred boundary) formed the boundary between them. The halves were, at various times, held by the Stokeports and the Ardernes, then later by the Stanleys until, in 1508, the heir John Stanley was killed by a tennis ball…somehow. With no rightful claimants, the land went to the crown and, in 1556 Etchells was sold to William Tatton.

By the 1560s, the Tattons, who also owned Northenden and other local lands, became full lords of the manor and held court over the local area. The township of Stockport Etchells, covering Gatley and much of the area now in Heald Green – the area being based on previous ecclesiastical parishes – gained administrative responsibilities in the 16th century, as the old powers of the lord of the manor waned and manorial rule became more by consent and custom. In the following centuries, the areas of Stockport Etchells and Northen Etchells were frequently administered together as Etchells.

The local court leets and court barons moved, for a time from the late 16th century, to a building that later became known as the Old Court House in Gatley, though it was probably an inn at the time. The townships of Stockport Etchells, Cheadle Moseley and Cheadle Bulkeley were merged into the Cheadle and Gatley Urban District in 1894. From 1894 until 1974, Gatley was a part of the urban district of Cheadle and Gatley, within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire. In 1934 both Manchester and Stockport wanted to annex the Cheadle and Gatley Urban District. An opinion poll of residents recorded near-unanimous support for continuing independence.

Gatley

In 1936 the boundaries of the Cheadle and Gatley Urban District saw minor changes due to the abolition of Handforth Urban District and in 1974, the urban districts in Stockport were abolished completely, with the Cheadle & Gatley Urban District becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. Still, some roads in the western side of Gatley continued to be a part of the City of Manchester until the early 1990s, when residents launched a successful application to enable Gatley, in its entirety, to become a part of Stockport. Gatley is now part of the Cheadle and Gatley borough ward and the Cheadle parliamentary constituency.

In later years, Gatley featured the Tatton cinema (which still stands, complete with signage – though is now a Co-op store). Gatley had no public transport links through to 1896, having only had its first turnpikes and roads opened in 1725 and 1820 respectively. In 1822, the fast coach, linking Liverpool and Stockport, passed through. The first actual public transport was via a locally-operated cab service, before an omnibus began to operate in 1898, until this, in turn, was replaced by electric trams in 1904.

Buses then came along to take over in 1931, whilst the LNWR railway line (Edgeley to Manchester, via Cheadle) closed in 1917, with the Styal Line, then operated by the same company, remaining operational from 1909, to this day. The area is also served, nearby, by the Metrolink Benchill stop, with this being on the Manchester Airport line, which opened in 2014.

I arrived into the village just outside Stockport and short of Manchester Airport at a tad before a quarter-to one and swiftly made my way through the tree-lined back-streets towards the William Scholes. I soon spotted Sam, who I’d not encountered since our visit to Astley & Tyldesley at the very end of last season, as his bright yellow Carlton Town top stood out a mile – just as his car tends to do in any car-park it finds itself within! After grabbing a couple of pictures of the outside of the ground, I headed in and awaited the arrival of the referee to get us underway.

To the Gateway ‘Spoons

This way to the ground

The pitch at the William Scholes is separated from the rest of the playing fields by a large green fence. It still has remnants from its past as an athletics venue, with the sand pit and occasional bits of running track poking through the grass that has since reclaimed these. One half of the pitch is railed off, with a slight raised bank available to the near-end quarter of the pitch, whilst the rest is largely grassed standing, although that was no issue in today’s rather balmy weather. Not much else to mention on this front, so let’s get onto the brief history of Cavaliers, shall we?

History Lesson:

Cavaliers Football Club was founded in 2020 and are in their first season in the Manchester League. The club have gained a fair amount of publicity for their regular, high-scoring reverses and have seen the likes of Specsavers get involved with the club – even going so far as to have the logo emblazoned upon their shirts and having, as mentioned earlier, the likes of Jimmy Bullard get involved with the club as their plight gained press momentum!

William Scholes Playing Fields

Arriving at the ground

However, the club did gain their first win of the season, defeating fellow basement boys Breightmet United, 2-1, whilst also gaining a point against fellow-league new-boys AFC Burnley in, perhaps, their most impressive performance so far. Second half performances seem to be the issue, including a collapse in the second half in the reverse fixture at Breightmet, which saw Cavs throw away a 3-1 half-time lead to somehow contrive to lose 9-5.

If it’s entertainment you’re after, these two are the teams to watch at this moment in time! Incidentally, Breightmet did win their previous game, at time of writing, to pull back ahead of Cavaliers once more, whilst the Cavs were defeated 16-0 for the second time within a week. As it stands, though, the club continue to press on as they will hope for far better times next season.

The match got underway with Monton, perhaps unsurprisingly, having the better of the early clashes. First, #10 fired in an effort that was kept out by the Cavaliers ‘keeper, before #17 rattled one just wide of the mark. But they would eventually grab the opener through #7, as he pounced upon a loose ball to slot home, after the hosts’ ‘keeper had pulled off another good stop, initially.

He was called into action yet again soon afterwards, keeping out both #10 and #17 for a second time each, the save from the former being a particularly fine stop. Cavaliers then had a rare opportunity down the other end through #7, but he fired over the bar and into the bushes behind. Monton resumed normal service, but still Cavaliers’ #1 kept them largely at bay, beating away #11’s driven effort, before #17 netted twice in quick succession – but only the latter would count.

Match Action

Match Action

Match Action

The first of the two was called offside, although it didn’t look to be, but he made up for it moments later, when he popped one across the ‘keeper and into the far corner. Half-time; 0-2 and Cavaliers had been pretty impressive, when you consider the thrashing that they’d just come off of. But Monton were still comfortably on top, as we got underway after the usual shorter half-time break that’s a staple at these levels.

The second half got going with Cavaliers testing the Monton stopper for the first time in the afternoon, when #7 cut inside, but he could only shoot straight at the visiting gloveman. Then came the 10 minutes of madness that well and truly sealed Cavs fate. First, a penalty was awarded for a foul, with the resultant spot-kick flying in underneath the body of the diving ‘keeper. I think he’d be rather disappointed not to have stopped it.

Number four arrived just a couple of minutes later, as #9 latched onto a through ball to slot home, before a second penalty was given pretty much straight from kick-off, with #2 taking on the kick on this occasion and making no mistake. #10 then lobbed narrowly over, before the final penalty of four was awarded and #14 fired into the bottom corner. Indeed, there was that many penalties that I’ve actually just realised I’ve forgotten to note one down!

View from the mound

Match Action

The last of the penalties(?)…and goals!

The game rounded off with #11 hitting the upright, as Monton sought an eighth (perhaps tipped onto it by the ‘keeper?), before #4 somehow contrived to head over the bar from a handful of yards out, with the last meaningful touch of the game. The full-time whistle arrived with Monton comfortably taking the points, but Cavaliers seeing an improved performance and definitely having small parts to build upon. Full time; 0-7.

Post-match, I bid farewell to Sam who returned back to his yellow submarine (I was walking Penny Lane the previous day, so a Beatles reference had to get in here somewhere!) in decent spirits, having seen Halesowen aid Carlton’s promotion efforts in drawing with Belper. As for me, I returned back into Gatley village and its few bars. However, most were closed at this time, so it was to the only one that was open, The Spinn (yes, it has two ‘n’s) where I wasted the best part of an hour supping slowly away at a pint of Manchester Union Lager (£4.50). Lovely stuff it was too.

Now in the feeling of trying some new things, I headed across the road (having had the first of two fruitless attempts at trying the closed-up G&Tley Bar – great name, btw) to the Bibita bar, where I opted to try out their self-badged lager (£4.25), which came recommended (unsurprisingly, perhaps!) by the lady working there as a solid lager option. Indeed, that is pretty much exactly what it was. It wasn’t bad stuff and it certainly tasted familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on quite what it actually was. Manchester Craft perhaps? Who knows. The mystery continues!

In The Spinn!

Bibita

Eventually polishing off my pint having just heard the cheers from the City fans congregated within the neighbouring Horse & Farrier pub (I’d already visited there back when doing Wythenshawe Amateurs, you see), I made my way up for that second pointless attempt, before returning back to pop into No. 1 bar. Was it number one? Well, it certainly wasn’t bad. Upon entering the recently opened bar, it was unsurprising that I was the only punter. In keeping with my new-found explorative feelings, I chose to try a pint of Pardal (£4.50) – which comes out of Budweiser’s Budvar brewery.

I was asked if I wanted a taste of it, as it’s a fairly acquired taste, but I assured the owner that I pretty much will like anything, if it has some alcohol in it; kind of like Father Jack, you know? Anyway, it certainly was a bit different, as it had a sour kick to it and you can see why some would hate the stuff, whilst others would love it. As for me, I found it more on the good side, but wasn’t overly taken with the stuff. Still, I was happy I’d taken the option in a nice, comfortable bar too. A nice way to end off my day in Gatley.

No.1 bar

Jumping back on the train, I was soon back in Manchester, where I decided to grab a pint back in the Piccadilly Tap after a couple of weeks away, largely due to the swarms of people making their way back from Old Trafford and making any train pretty uncomfortable, more likely than not. So a pint of Schofferhöffer was had in the fine surroundings of the Tap, before I returned back to the railways for the train homewards. The space upon it fully justified this choice of action!

Again, it’d been a good day out. It was good to see Sam again after such a long time and it was great to see Cavaliers compete with a side far higher up the table, aside from the ten minute spell when they lost their heads. The ground has been on my list for some time, so I was always attracted to pay a visit when it came about that Cavs would be playing out of it; largely due to the bonus planespotting that can be done! Pubs and bars were great too. Onto the final day of the Easter weekend, then, but I’ve no idea where I’ll be ending up, now Worcester Raiders’ game has fallen early.

There seems to be something to build on for Cavaliers, from most of this game and I hope Monton can continue to recoup their position from before they had the season-or-two away from the league. They deserve to be higher. Easter Monday, where will I be…