Thursday 5th May 2022
Cheshire League Premier
Daten 3 Eagle Sports 2 HT: 2-1 Att: 110
Jupp (pen) 1, 11, Hansley 90 Hayes so : Hutchins 38, Sutton 62
from Culcheth Sports Club
Daten is not a place in Cheshire, despite sounding like one. It stands for the Department of ATomic ENergy, originally a works side from the Culcheth branch of the government department, that at the time were called British Nuclear Fuels.
In 1998, the Culcheth Sports Ground was bought out from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) for £203,000 and is now an independent self-sustaining body, with no ties to the atomic energy industry now. The impressive site boasts a large clubhouse with table tennis, snooker and games room. Outside are a cricket pavillion, tennis courts, bowling green and two football pitches.
Thankfully, the ties to the atomic energy back story are still evident in Daten’s nickname, the Atoms, and the club badge, which is the old fashioned representation of an atomic nucleus, from the days of Ernest Rutherford, when they depicted the electrons as like planets orbiting the sun. I love the two footballs as electrons in their logo – nice touch.
We now know this depiction of the atom to be misleading, as it is more like a central nucleus, surrounded by a probabilistic cloud of electrons, that behave more as a wave than a particle, until they’re measured. Scientifically incorrect as it may be, it has to be one of the best football badges in England.
Continue reading “Daten”
Saturday 7th September 2013 15.00
Tuesday 15th August 2017 6.45pm
Non-league and in particular the Cheshire League continue to impress me. I’d only even heard of the club earlier in the day when they advertised the fact they were issuing a programme on Twitter. This is step nine! This is a step only talked about in whispers in toilets with the taps running. Some heavily bearded seasoned groundhoppers have been known to shun steps as low as these. But here lies Ford Motors in the third tier of the Cheshire League, with full clubhouse, railed pitch, stand and match programme. What an expedition this was.
Wednesday 10th August 2016 6.45pm
The nascent season, the time to get county games in, during the few weeks of late sunsets, before September arrives and it’s Saturdays only for the un-floodlit fields of the minor leagues. My first such game of the season and indeed the Cheshire League, a 6.45er. I knew nothing of the ground or club beforehand, giving the evening a bit of mystery. I love this time of year, heading out after work in the sunshine for a pint and some early kick off footy, back home before 10pm. Shame it just bookends the bulk of the season.
What an unexpected charm Ericstan Park was, not to mention a fascinating top-of -the-table encounter on the pitch. Wythenshawe had flown beneath my radar until this season, on account of being a step eight side, a step where most teams play on roped pitches – my groundspeed is not yet sufficient to warrant delving that low.
The Groundhog 