Over 50s footballers wanted
Cherwell Strollers Walking Football Club has an A Team and B Team in the Thames Valley League at Bisham Abbey in Marlow run by Bucks & Berks FA and an Over 50s and Over 60s team in the Oxon Summer League run by Oxon FA and currently played at Bicester. We also enter teams into various tournaments in surrounding counties.
Walking football – or to be more accurate non-running football – has grown enormously since Cherwell Strollers started in 2014 and at representative level is very competitive and challenging. The standard of teams has improved considerably over the years and the amount of skill displayed by some of the players is outstanding. As a number of our players are getting older we are seeking to recruit players of a good footballing standard with a view to representing the club in various competitions. We are particularly short of players in the 50 – 58 age range.
During the Winter months, we train at The Dewey Sports Centre in Bloxham on Sunday mornings at 10.30.
If you would be interested in joining our team – please contact Stan Horlock stan@thehorlocks.com or 07889 315069, alternatively, you can fill in our Contact Form and we will get back to you.
2024 – an annus mirabilis!
By any standards 2024 has been a vintage year for the Cherwell Strollers.
Having waited five years since winning a trophy, two trophies appeared in the space of two months! What is it that they say about London buses!? On top of that our first team managed to survive in the Premier division in the Thames Valley league for the first time, in addition to which there was recognition and success at county level for a couple of our players.
27 May – Teign Drifters Tournament at Dawlish FC
We entered two aged-based teams into the over 50s and over 60s competitions in Dawlish on the last bank holiday in May. Our over 60s team did a creditable job in reaching the semifinals, but it was our over 50s team which grabbed the silverware. The over 50s squad that competed was:
Mark Austin (GK)
Chris Morris
Paul Gibbs
John Pallett
John Watson
Paul Malcher
Pete Dubber
With the tournament taking place on grass, and rain having fallen in the proceeding days, conditions underfoot were very tricky. The goals were larger than we were used to, but the goal areas were disproportionately large which led to very few goals being scored in open play. We played a round-robin against the other seven teams, and in the first six of these managed no wins, four draws and one loss. Our only goal was scored by John “Chopper” Watson. It meant that we needed to win the last game to qualify for the semi-finals, and this was achieved through a somewhat fortuitous penalty being converted by Paul Gibbs (‘Gibbo’). However we still had Mark Austin to thank for preserving our precious lead.
The semi-final was another tightly contested affair but was settled by an absolute screamer from ‘Chopper,’ who thundered the ball home from just inside the opposition half.
This led to a final against Torquay. Our backs were to the wall but we managed to hold out for a 0-0 draw and so take the final to a penalty shootout. After the first round of five penalties the two teams could still not be split, so a second round was required. Mark Austin again came to the fore with a terrific save, which meant that the trophy was on its way from Devon to Banbury!
20 July – Brackley
Brackley staged a tournament in the summer which was exclusively for over 60s teams. This time our triumph was a lot more straightforward. After scraping through to the final at Dawlish and winning courtesy of a penalty shootout, this time we comfortably topped the qualifying group with three wins and two draws, won a semi-final 1-0 (Chris the scorer) and beat Corby in the final by 2-0, thanks to goals from Chris and Gaz. No goals conceded throughout, which reflected huge credit on Martin Evans between the sticks.
They squad that day was:
Martin Evans
Stan Horlock
Chris Morris
Gaz Liversage
Mick Dyson
Pete Dubber
Ian Kirchin
As well as Martin’s heroics that day, special mentions go to Mick for a solid showing all round capped by two goals, and Stan who was in full “beast mode” in defence.
Another trophy to add to our growing trophy cabinet!
Thames Valley league – Spring and Autumn seasons
Our first team, the Strollers, competed both seasons in the Premier League, while our second team, the Amblers, competed each time in League 2. The games are played at Bisham Abbey near Marlow the former England training ground that is still used by professional clubs.
Amblers came close to achieving promotion in the spring season, although with one round to go that looked to be unlikely for the autumn season. This does not tell the whole story though. Colin has managed to run the team with enthusiasm and has cultivated an excellent team spirit. At no time have they managed to get their full-strength side onto the pitch. We are confident that if and when this happens in 2025, we will be very competitive in that league.
For the Strollers, avoiding relegation in the spring season was something of a holy grail. Our previous two attempts in that division had ended with us finishing in bottom place. This time we needed to finish in fourth place or higher, and it went down to the wire. Going into the last match on the last day of the season, it was a two-way shootout between ourselves and Bicester Fossils. The Fossils held the edge with a one-point advantage over us, but our goal difference was superior to theirs. It meant that if we could manage to achieve a better result than them in our last match we would survive. When we trailed 1-0 to Oxford United A, it looked as though the game was up, but a goal a couple of minutes from time by Peter Dubber ensured a share of the spoils. Celebrations began when we learned on leaving the pitch that Bicester had lost their game against Bracknell.
With one round remaining in the Autumn league we again occupied the all-important 4th spot in the table. Again, however, it remains incredibly tight and any two of the bottom three, including us could face the drop. Here’s hoping that we prevail again come February. (Footnote – sadly we had ridden our luck once to often!)
Special mentions must go to Mark Byrne and Paul Gibbs who are the only players to have played every minute of every game throughout the two seasons.
Oxfordshire league
For this age based-league we entered a team into the over 50s and over 60s categories.
The league, which is staged at Whitelands in Bicester, is played with smaller five-a-side goals with matches typically of a duration of 12 minutes. These two factors combine to make goals hard to come by and, certainly in the over 60s league at least, there is rarely more than one goal per game. This made for a tight and highly competitive season.
The over 50s finished in fourth place in what was a very tough league.
The over 60s managed a third place finish out of eight teams. In each of the rounds we remained in contention for top spot, rarely if ever more than one or two points from winning on the day. We feel that, with a fair wind, it is not out of the question that we can challenge for this trophy in 2025.
******
An excellent year for a Club that is much smaller than the top clubs was capped with a couple of individual achievements. Pete Dubber was selected for the County over 60s team, and has recently been appointed player manager. Meanwhile, away from Walking Football, Chris Morris was Captain of the Oxfordshire over 60s 11-a-side team that won the National County Cup against Lincolnshire. Well done Chris a terrific achievement!
Peter Dubber – Club Secretary