Craig Priest reveals more of his favourite moments from the 2011-12 season on the road with the Mansfield Matters Team....

Two weeks today I’ll be back in a press box, head set on, loads of random notes on my lap and an electrical current of wires running beneath my feet – brining you all the action as football returns at last!

These final two Saturday’s however will be tough and I can’t help but get nostalgic over what has been my first full (complete) season in radio, spent with great friends watching the team we love doing the job we all enjoy – there is no greater feeling, especially as the memories and stories we’ve collected along the way will last a life time no matter what happens in the future.

With pre-season around the corner, in the coming weeks this website will go back to previews, opinions, reports etc so today is pretty much my last chance to share some of those (repeatable) stories with you, so sit back and enjoy some more fables from the Mansfield Matters Commentary Team....  

Take That CD hell

Those of you who follow me on twitter etc will be aware that my musical taste is not the greatest, in fact quite a few of you would probably have me shot for what’s on my MP3 player – those of you that have heard the music on the shows during the latter end of the season pretty much have Briggsy to thank for choosing something more modern, I can’t repeat what he said the morning I told him we’d start playing music on the show!

Anyway, I hold my hands up and say that now and then I do listen to ‘Take That’ however after a trip to Forest Green Rovers back in October, I don’t think I’ll ever listen to the sounds of Barlow and the boys again!

It was already a weird, stressful day with James having gotten us lost and went on an attempted pheasant killing spree ....oooh don’t forget the boiling hot weather! What you need after that is the PA system to play some relaxing music, they did at first at 12noon way before the punters came through the turnstile, putting on ‘Take That’s’ album ‘The Circus’ which does actually have some relaxing songs for an occasional listen, however after the final track had finished the CD didn’t change to your usual standard football music, it went back to the start and the volume turned up a notch – this particular CD is half an hour long and the same pattern continued right until kick off, so by the time 3pm arrived I’d heard the same CD on a loop getting louder and louder nearly six times – in that heat, after James had nearly murder the entire life stock of the region and gotten us lost AGAIN – Take That on a loop was enough to send even the most calm person insane.

Because of that day I know the track list off by heart and have never listened to my copy of the CD again... All I can say to Forest Green is that particular day wasn’t the Greatest Day of my life, anytime I hear the name Julie said over and over by Mark Sodding Owen I turn into a killing monster that would Not be relaxing by spending time in The Garden. I was so crazy that day I most probably would have joined The Circus....

Ok that’s enough song CD gags now – oh How did it come to this...! Moving on....

The Rushden/Kettering Seat Steal and wacky races

Going to an away ground you have to be polite and respect the host clubs wishes, nine times out of ten you can pretty much sit where you want in a press box unless you’ve been allocated a set slot to comply with what you need, EG Power, ISDN, Phone. Sometimes though most clubs are flexible and, so long as you’re not breaking health and safety rules, pretty much let you get on with things.

My pet hate is “indoor” press boxes, which is a booth at the back of the stand with Perspex plastic windows, designed to keep the press warm and safe from flying footballs which is fair enough. It’s very rare nowadays to see these as, like at the One Call Stadium clubs have transformed a row of seats into a press area – in fact last season only three clubs had a “indoor” press area, Barrow, Bath and Kettering, who played at Rushden & Diamonds Nene Park.

When I arrive at grounds with an “indoor” press box the first thing I do is look for a seat and power point out in the open stand because, in my opinion, if you’re in a enclosed area commentators and journalists have to talk over each other and with no crowd noise, which makes for an awful show. The trip to Kettering, well Rushden! In April was Briggys’ first away game and he naturally wanted to be enclosed away from the home supporters who he was convinced would ‘stare him out if he said anything bad’ – after explaining about the difference in audio qualities and plying him with Jaffa Cakes, we set up outside and we’re having a generally nice time until a member of the Kettering press came and informed me I was sat in someone’s seat who wouldn’t be very happy! Me being the kind person I am apologized in a Simon like way off the inbetweeners, and said I’d move after my next link. Ten minutes later the Kettering guy had clearly chosen to wind me up with Briggsy by pretending the guy whose seat I’d taken was a beast and one of the most feared ex-players around the local area, I even went to the extent of goggling him to do my research – fact! When the guy in question arrived and saw us set up in his seated area, he marched over and threw his bag on the floor and went on a Boris Becker style rant before taking the piece offering Jaffa Cake Briggsy offered and bursting out laughing with the other guy who’d set out this ‘he’ll kill you’ type story – it turns out it was his seat but he didn’t care as the pair pull the same routine on visiting journalists at every opportunity they get! ... I thought the stupid pranks would stop when Jeremy Beadle died!

It turns out he was a really nice guy and was really easy to chat to despite the full time score seeing his team relegated.

So far on that day, I’d be robbed of Jaffa Cakes by James and Briggsy, fooled in to believing I had a contract out on my life, accused of drawing a deformed Stag on my note book by James and had seen my boy’s romp to a 3-0 victory – what else could complete my day? Oh yeah, driving back with Briggsy we passed James on the motorway and decided to give him a “friendly” pip and wave – James somehow took our acknowledging hello as a sign for a race, one Briggsy wouldn’t back down too! For about half a mile on a clear motorway you had James in one lane and us in the other trying to get ahead of the other, Naturally James won toying with us after it took Briggsy some three miles to actually get level with James, before the latter just put his foot down and flew off into the night – I’m seriously not safe in a car no matter whose driving! It was like a scene from Wacky Races, thing is I can’t work out whose Dick Dastardly, whose Mutely and whose Penelope Pit stop!

Wrexham shopping spree

Well that’s nearly it for this mini-series of stories, however there is one more to tell and it stems from a question I was asked the other day ‘What are you looking forward to the most about football returning?’ – Obviously I can’t wait to get the headset on and ramble on for 90minutes and do all the work that comes with it, however I think I’m most looking forward to the half time refreshments which has become a regular feature on our travels ever since one night in Wales.

Ahead of the trip to Wrexham in September I decided to take a flask of hot chocolate due to being short on money and therefore unable to buy a half time drink. After picking everyone up, myself and Scott decided to pop into Pound land on the retail park for some supply’s for the trip, we walked round literally like kids in a sweetshop, filling the basket with everything we could – we must have spent about £15 between us! We had cake, muffins, jaffa cakes, rocky bars, vimto sweets, fizzy laces – you name it we had it! Arriving at the ground we entered with two bags of radio kit and two full of snacks (Which we had to pretend was radio kit)! Obviously our spend was excessive and we toned down for other trips but it’s safe to say now that a double packet of Jaffa Cakes, a packet of Rocky’s or KitKats and a huge flask of boiling hot water follows us around in a bag full of hot chocolate mix and plastic cups which other members of the Stags press have decided to use as their own refreshment bar! Infact Mark Stevenson the clubs press officer no longer asks how we are upon arrival at various grounds, he just asks if we’ve brought the hot chocolate and Rockys – I wouldn’t mind if I got any for myself but by the time James, Briggsy, Scott and Mark have raided the stash, all that’s left is the wrappers!

Next season I’ll have to introduce a payment system eh! .... and yes guys if you are reading this wondering if the half time refreshment bar will return, I think you can take it is a given – it wouldn’t be Mansfield Matters without that would it!?!

And so that’s it I’m afraid, thanks for reading our little stories, I hope that next season provides many more and that my final memory will be dancing in celebration with my friends and colleagues rather than cowering under a table in tears! That’s another story for another day as we begin to preview pre-season over the coming weeks!  

I hope you’ve again picked up some vital information from today’s fables, if ever you hear a CD you like at a football ground spare a thought for those broadcasters etc that have hard it at least four times already.... If you are going to set up at an away ground, always check you’re not stealing someone’s seat, never get involved in a drag race between James & Briggs and finally, if you do want something from Craig’s bag of half time goodies – please form an orderly cue!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations – to submit a piece for publication email your work to mtfcmatters@gmail.com  

Craig Priest reveals some of his memorable moments on the road with the Mansfield Matters team...

I’m often asked what the best thing is about being a commentator, sometimes it’s the football and getting to whiteness glorious matches and moments, but as I’ve remembered today midway through editing our ‘2011-12 Goals’ audio, it’s the banter between the boys which makes every show thoroughly enjoyable.

Sometimes it’s the slightest of things which are remembered, for instance all season long I’m constantly reminded off Hednesford away during pre-season when a Tom Naylor clearance knocked my headphones off – well today I get revenge, it’s not just me that has the odd awkward moment on air! Here are a few of my favourites... 

Scott’s pink shirt love

As you’ll all be aware, Scott’s been fore filling every boys dream this past season by donning the infamous amber and blue, rightfully picking up the player of the season award along the way. However at the start of the season Scott was still dreaming of a run outfield after originally signing as a goalkeeper, meaning he had to put up with the Grey top and have no colour to his match days. A trip to Barrow mid-September gave Scott other ideas as first team goalkeeper Alan Marriott ran out the tunnel sporting the now famous pink strip, I’ve never known Scott so in awe of something, in fact his drool nearly electrocuted us all. It’s difficult to explain why the moment was so awkward and funny, however there are times as a broadcaster as in life when you say one thing and everyone knows what you’re saying, but they way it’s said makes the whole situation funny and awkward, a prime example is the phrase “there sneaking in around the back” or “the penetration of this time takes my breath away” – there is so much innuendo between commentary teams no matter what match it is there watching.

As I mentioned it was the audio from Scott’s declaration of love for all things pink which has led to today’s blog, as a special treat we’ve made it available to listen too by clicking HERE 

During the same commentary we we’re discussing the work rate of defender Ritchie Sutton, this lead to another awkward moment as Scott described, in somewhat graphic detail, his “encounter” with Sutton in the gym earlier in the week, the phrase “he’s got a great physique” may have been taken ever so slightly out of context – fortunately for Scott I can’t find the relevant bit of audio at the minute!

Nick Hegarty’s my brother & voldermort

Obviously I never let Scott forget his little bit of innuendo amongst other, unrepeatable, things – however that goes both ways as over the course of the season I’ve had my share of awkward moments, one in particular during a mid-season friendly with Eastwood when Scott noticed a resemblance between me and Nick Hegarty who’d just signed a short term deal. Obviously with the crowd being a little on the small side and the game being a little lacklustre due to its nature, jokes we’re flying around – first we we’re both being quite childish and embarrassing a girl we knew with more innuendo commentary lines, getting points for the bigger laugh from those around – my gamble on the girl watching Hegarty change backfired with Scott chirping in with the comment surrounding looks and the matching ginger hair. From there on in, every time he touched the ball or was included in a Stags side, the ginger jokes we’re out in force! Fortunately Nick, or Craig, moved on at Christmas and failed to feature more than twice.

During the same game Stags we’re casting their eye over a trialist whose name Paul Cox didn’t want to be revealed on air, you may remember us changing his name to ‘Voldermort’ and me throwing in a few puns here and there, click HERE to hear more from both incidents. 

Get out my cupboard!

It’s not only on air where things can get awkward, I promised you I’d write about myself and Wayne’s trip to Kettering and will do during the week, however looking back over the season I remember another moment when things got a little awkward – an august bank holiday in Stockport for one.

Stockport is one of the rare clubs to have an area for press and photographers to grab a refreshment, creating a little room underneath the stand which in fairness was quite cosy – when I arrived I found James Williamson and Scott say with their feet up eating custard creams. At half time we went back down to grab a cuppa however I discovered that there we’re no cups left, I was told to look in a cupboard by a fellow member of the press and had discovered a couple of mugs only to be shouted out like a naughty school boy “get out of my cupboard!” Needless to say we didn’t get a cup of tea during that particular half time interval and, not one for being caught twice, have since opted to take my own refreshments which James, Scott and Mark Stevenson (the clubs press officer) tend to raid at the half time break. Not contempt with taking my stash, James and Scott have also landed themselves in hot water by going in random rooms at various clubs over the course of the season, I have to say I haven’t been with them when on the search for tea, however I’m told there marked men at such places such as Southport. 

James’ love for all things Andy Todd

As you can imagine there are plenty of tales to tell with me mainly being the subject of the joke, I’ve revealed an admission from Scott today so it’s only fair to do the same about James.

Similar to footballers on the way to training, we tend to car share with James and besides getting lost, often enjoy sensible conversations about team selection etc. On the way to Kidderminster at the end of the season we knew there’d be changes because of the play-offs and Andy Todd’s name came into the mix. What was said by James was said in such a way it’s unrepeatable, let’s just say that James was trying to make the point that Andy Todd keeps his fitness up, it sounded so different and made Scott’s pink shirt and Ritchie Sutton love sound tame.

Let’s just say that James took it to another level which will scare all involved for life – at fear for your own sanity I will not repeat what was said. However in a bid to squash certain rumours, James was at the centre of a whole new storm days later on the way home from York.

At the local McDonalds we we’re enjoying a nice late snack when we noticed James heading back to the counter to order more food and subsequently flirt with the young lady behind the counter. Sat around the table we’re myself, Scott, Wayne and two others who, with childlike mentality, showed James up with comments which went around the table, each of us trying to better the other and not ruin it – easier said than done when eating Ice Cream! We we’re there for a good half hour with this continuing as everyone else left, in the end there was our group, the young lady and the store manager left in the store, a middle aged unimpressed man with a face like thunder. As we finished our meals in the midst of innuendo inspired laughter, we decided to set a then single James up, writing his name and number on a piece of paper ripped from a food bag, making sure the young lady wasn’t looking we placed the number at her till and promptly left the store, leaving just James inside! Fortunately for him, he left in the nick of time as the number was picked up – mid sprint back to the cars, we explained what we’d done; unfortunately the rest of this story will have to be left to the imagination as again it’s pretty much unrepeatable from that point onwards – be assured folks that we won’t forget that nights events in a hurry and won’t let James forget either!

Truly great times and there are plenty more in the locker maybe for another day, just remember folks that if you’re ever in the same Gym as Scott, it’s best to keep your distance – if you ever see a footballer with ginger hair, we are not related – if a footballer ever has magical powers, the Harry Potters books could actually be fact rather than fiction and last but by no means least, if you happen to work in a McDonalds, be prepared to receive James phone number on the corner of a Doughnut packet, that lads got romance in his soul!

Until next time, thanks for reading!   

The views and comments expressed in this piece are those solely of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations. To submit a piece for publication, email mtfcmatters@gmail.com  

Craig Priest reveals some of his memorable moments on the road with the Mansfield Matters team...

So far in this miniseries I’ve written about travelling to the game and experiencing road rage and have spoken about some of the people I’ve shared the seasons journey with – today I truly delve behind the scenes and reveal some of the more interesting tales of how the Mansfield Matters show actually gets on air, those of you that think it’s simply a case of turning up and pressing a few buttons are in for a shock – if only it were that simple!

Covering the Stags this season has been a pleasure and like everyone else I have people that I look up to, admire and aspire to be like, however sometimes I wonder how those covering the premier league and championship would cope outside the football league as quite often, conference grounds don’t have the best of facilities! I must get on record that there is always someone willing to help from every club hence why our coverage both of league matches and friendly’s has continued throughout the season, I’d very much like to thank them for that, however you still have to be prepared for a challenge from the moment you press ‘Send’ on your email requesting press passes – I may joke around and moan a little, sorry dad and everyone that’s took an ear bashing, however I think the challenge of actually getting on air in the first place, has made the job more rewarding and the season more enjoyable. I’ll hold my hands up and say I’ve had sleepless nights before games wondering about what I’ll face to bring coverage, sometimes I’ve woken up in a cold sweat, no matter how twisted this sounds – I can’t wait to do it again! 

Chasetown holds memories dear to me, yes Barrow was where I was discovered and made my radio debut, but Chasetown’s scholars ground was the place I did my first solo live full match commentary in the FA Trophy quarter final during the 2010-11 campaign, to this day I’ll never know how I got through it not just because of the nerves, but because I was full of flu, could hardly speak, had a throbbing headache and had a nose like a running tap, I woke up the next day slightly high after a concoction of Power-Aid, pain killers, soothers, energy tablets and vics vapour rub had finally taken their toll! Because I couldn’t remember a thing about the scholars ground I was delighted when we had a pre-season friendly with them last season, this time it was a beautiful warm August day rather than a misery midweek evening, however any chance of a pre-show relaxing sit in the sunshine was scrapped upon entrance to the ground where I discovered a lack of press facilities as the area given to us during the cup match had been handed back to the fans and the press hut moved to allow redevelopment of the ground.

The press hut had been placed in the corner of the ground and offered just one seat, taken by the PA announcer, what were we to do as covering the Stags were three other journalists. In this job we stick together and the essential thing for any modern day journalist or broadcaster is power, nobody likes handwriting a report to type it up later, especially with deadlines to meet, whilst nobody wants to listen to full match commentary done from a mobile phone – I don’t like the phone bill either! In search of a power point I found two, one was offered through a kitchen window to the seats we had in the trophy, however this was to be a last resort – the other was in the press hut in the far corner which had a sheltered seated stand behind the goal and an open terrace, with a side view of the pitch – having experienced the nightmare of commentating from behind a goal at Boston the previous week, I opted for the open terrace and ran a 50M blue extension cable along the floor and the side of the pitch to an area with a decent view. 

The next problem was desks, we had far too much equipment between us to simply hold and work – off to the supporters bar to borrow a few tables and chairs, the locals were fantastic in helping us manoeuvre them to and from the bar, amidst bemused looks though as none of them could really see the draw of this mammoth effort for a pre-season friendly! My power cable despite being extraordinarily long only had one working plug socket; we needed at least six so began linking smaller extension cables into each other, you’ve not seen wiring like it, All this from a man who at school preferred writing and acting in the Drama studio (well classroom with a wonky table and effects light) to messing around with a soldering iron. A few things I’ll never forget about that day in Chasetown, my equipment being on a wonky workman’s painting table, the looks from the locals who enjoyed laughing at my ‘genius’ as much as we enjoyed the banter and the worry at half time when it started drizzling, it’s a miracle really we’re all still alive to tell the tale.

It wasn’t just pre-season where press box problems arose, in fact in this division if you’re not armed with a long extension cable and a bit of creativity, you won’t get anywhere – something proved at Braintree in just our second away trip of the season back in August. It’s all well and good having the aforementioned things however sometimes there no good if you can’t even get through the gate. I tend to book my press passes nice and early to give clubs notice and take into consideration the relevant clubs, if I don’t get a reply I tend to worry as I can get paranoid and certainly was on this particular afternoon, being so new to them game I just needed to know our email had been seen – a yes coming finally as we we’re halfway there following numerous phone calls meaning I could relax and enjoy a pre-match McDonalds, however my paranoia made me head straight for the ground and boy was my paranoia correct! After parking up and being given a space due to our name being on the parking list as requested, we all headed towards the gate and found a gentleman sporting a high-visibility vest holding a clipboard with a biro behind his ear. “Hi mate, Craig Priest from Takeover Radio” I said in my usual friendly manor, the reply was “Not on the list, turnstiles are round the other side” obviously I opposed this statement and argued our case, which basically meant pointing at my name on the sheet! Even then I wasn’t allowed in with the radio kit, being told the press box was full I was told I had a complimentary seat and that the kit would have to remain in the car. Eventually I marched in cursing WITH the kit whilst Scott and my dad waited outside and I’m told, comforted a crying James Williamson who was also refused entry with his camera and had been sat on this grass banking having a breakdown for the best part of an hour. Inside the ground I dropped the stuff next to the press box and hunted for power, all of which had been taken – more cursing followed before Scott walked in having basically sprinted into the ground with James after clipboard man had gone for a cuppa, challenged only by another steward who said “yeah it’s fine!” in regardless to them being in the ground with the press. Technically we can work without power but the standard of coverage one I’m not happy with and after Stephen Thrikill from the Chad had also arrived in a similar “you’re not on the list” fashion, we decided to “do a Chasetown” and make our own press box in the seated area with power from another source, trouble is bar from the press box there’s very rarely a power point in the stadium elsewhere. 

Eventually after seriously considering wiring ourselves up to a burger van, we found a power point in a turnstile just down from the seated area and asked if we could use it, fortunately the guy said yes and plugged the 50M blue cable in. My dad spotted us and then helped sort the wires out, going over the top of the turnstiles and then throwing the now live cable over the top of the porter-loo’s through some tree’s and into the stand where we did the rest with a maze of other wires! I’m amazed how nobody got an electric shock and at how the whole thing unfolded from what was animosity at first into a rather pleasant afternoon, it’s just a shame that we only took a point home. Again I’d like to get on record how helpful the Braintree staff we’re in helping us to resolve the issue during a time they where upgrading the amount of press seats and power to meat conference regulations. 

The season just gone has seen us do literally anything to get the show on air, from wiring up a turnstile to postponing an afternoon’s dominoes by taking a table or two at Chasetown! We’ve also had times where we’ve been sat on a wooden bench with complex wiring, saw bags and boxes used as desks and sent people into fits of rage because of our choice of seats – that one a story for another day!

I hope that any broadcasters out there looking to cover the BSBP have taken notes, always have these essential tools, a LONG extension cable or three, a spark of creativity and charm, a calm nature and most importantly: LIFE INSURANCE! There are lessons to be learned too, always check things twice, avoid men with an NVQ in clipboard management and most importantly; never expect things given to you on a plate, if you want to feed on the rewards you need to face the challenges, rise too & concur them. I value my job highly and am so grateful to those who lend a helping hand, I can’t wait for all of this to start again in pre-season remember the golden rule: THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

Reflecting on things now, not only must I remember all of the above, I must also remember that if I’m ever out in town and a girl turns the tables and uses the old classic chat-up line ‘are you can electrician because when you walked into the room you sent a current racing through my body’ on me, I must remember to smile, say no and respond with something equally cheesy rather than say ‘this one time, in Braintree...’

Until next time, thanks for reading.

The views expressed in this piece are those solely of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations. To submit a piece for publication, email mtfcmatters@gmail.com   

Craig Priest reveals some of his memorable moments on the road with the Mansfield Matters team...

Away days are notoriously brilliant, often regardless of the result on the pitch. You spend all work working and then on a Saturday get to sit on a coach for hours, watching the white lines go flashing buy in search of three points. Fair enough I’ve not painted the most beautiful of pictures there but trust me, when you throw in really good friends, bucket loads of banter, a sing song, maybe a dance and a beer or ten – the afternoon turns out to be wonderful.

As I’ve said on numerous occasion, I always enjoyed travelling on the coach with such a wonderful group of people, again the only “downside” to broadcasting this seasons action, was the fact that logistically going on the coach isn’t do-able. The coach leaves practically straight after the game and had I been on it this season, would have had a few annoyed faces waiting for me to pack up – having the car means there’s no rush, which I’m grateful for. Obviously you miss out on some of the banter but similar to footballers going into training, we’ve developed our own little “car school” which creates banter now and then, although as James Williamson knows, sometimes it’s better to remain silent then open your mouth, Hi Andy! – That’s all I’m saying!

Coming home there’s no pressure as everything’s done and you can chill out which we tend to do, however the journey to the game isn’t the same as your against the clock to get to the relevant ground with enough time to set up and go live on air at the scheduled time, sometimes things don’t always go to plan, something that’s happened on more than one occasion this season!   

I have to say that only drivers are supposed to get road rage, however when the traffic is crawling at a snail’s pace for no apparent reason at the clocks ticking ever closer to when I’m supposed to be at a ground or worse, on air, passenger Craig can catch road rage too, something discovered in pre-season when the Stags headed for Boston United. Our “Car School” departed Mansfield around 11.30am for the 1 hour 20 minutes trip so that we’d arrive at the Jakemans Stadium around 1pm, plenty of time for me to set up the radio kit and for the others to enjoy a drink in the sunshine. Things we’re going fine heading through Newark, the banter and conversation was flowing in the glorious weather, then we hit Lincoln, Sleaford and eventually Boston where the nightmare began. Slow moving traffic slowed us down through Lincoln but we got through the worst of it, the same again in Sleaford however in Boston itself and the long stretch to the ground, things took a frustrating turn. The traffic was barley reaching 10MPH and a final leg which should take ten minutes, took around 50 minutes – finally arriving at the ground at around 2.15pm a trip which totalled up to roughly two and a half hours.

I was sat in the car clock watching for the final bit of that journey, I honestly considered getting out, taking my kit from the boot and walking (maybe jogging) to the ground, it would have been faster that the speed we were doing in the car anyway! There was something so smug about the passing pedestrians and cyclists too; never have I dished out so many ‘I hate you’ looks! Finally arriving at the ground I thought ‘great, now I can kick on and get this show on the road’, but as you can imagine things never run smoothly in Craig’s world, when things are going wrong, they do so in epic fashion as it took a further ten minutes to get my press passes and into the ground due to a conversation about tea and coffee. Tea eventually proved the winner and in we went, heading to the main stand on the side of the pitch in search of a press box, imagine my horror when there wasn’t one. Panicking I asked a steward where the press box was and was directed behind the goal, where low and behold, the press box was, it certainly made an interesting afternoon’s commentary with the sides kicking up and down rather than left to right – got to love new experiences really.

Another road rage trip was one which also led to a near death experience, travelling to Fleetwood for an FA Cup replay back in November. A chemical spillage on the M61 had seen the motorway closed and, adding to a long list of problems, saw the team coach caught up in the chaos. I knew their pain having been on a Motorway closure the previous season when the Stags headed for Newport, I’ll never forget the SSA people selling stuff to the people in the cars around us!

Fortunately the power of twitter had alerted us to the dilemma prior to our departure and we made alternative plans, as did every other motorist which was part of the problem! We opted for logic and thought the most likely route people would take would be the M6 and such, avoided it taking the M62 followed by the M55. As predicted a lot of folk travelling in that direction opted for the M6 and around Preston, it had become jammed and closed by the BBC, sorry, traffic cops! Everyone filtered onto the M62/M55 and with both already tight with maintenance work, things began to crawl. Fortunately I foresight to avoid the M6 had gained us some ground and after a final couple of agonising miles at 15MPH, we were clear and on the home straight looking good, and the headlights on the car died – yeah I laughed too.

We pulled into a garage some eight miles from the ground to tinker about with the lights, we prodded every button, kicked and punch everything and still nothing worked bar the brake lights, indicators and full beams. After a LOT of cursing and pacing up and down the forecourt, we decided to carry on, get to the ground and then call the AA (other breakdown companies are available). It was pitch black, we had no headlights and we’re driving with full beams on with cars going the other way constantly flashing us and piping at us, the was more swearing that a turret’s group meeting. We nearly crashed twice and Scott Rogers was practically in tears in the back, whilst I kept my head down, holding down the beam light thing whilst my dad drove into the darkness. Eventually we arrived, unharmed, at the ground where we got out the car shaking and our hearts racing, myself and Scott headed into the ground to set up whilst the other travellers with us made for the turn-style, my dad stayed and waited for the AA (other breakdown companies are available), I think out of us all, he got the best deal as the Stags went onto be trounced 5-0 and dumped out of the cup, a night which saw them endure a five hour coach trip, getting stuck in traffic with everyone on the coach throwing up with food poisoning which also effected members of the press, who’d eaten the sandwiches of doom. On reflection, we got stuck in traffic, broke down, nearly died and got hammered 5-0 – I hate football at times!

There have been a few close calls time wise due to work commitments for midweek games, namely Grimsby when a drastic run around the surrounding streets was needed to gain entry into the stadium at 7PM, with heartburn I add due to a 2 minute wolfing down of McDonalds – also a SatNav failure at Cambridge saw my dad do a Williamson and get lost, however no matter the situation, nothing compares to the nightmares of Boston and Fleetwood.

There are plenty more stories to come but for now there you have it, lessons have been learned once more – Tea beats coffee, always have a weekend away where you can and NEVER travel to Fleetwood with us without life insurance!

The views expressed in this piece are those solely of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations. To submit a piece for publication, email mtfcmatters@gmail.com  

Craig Priest reveals some of his memorable moments on the road with the Mansfield Matters team...

I often get asked what’s my favourite thing about football, the obvious answer is the search for glory, however having followed the Stags home and away for some 10 seasons now my answer to the aforementioned question becomes ‘people and places’.

Yes, I know I sound like a boring TV host from the 90’s, but honestly it’s not as boring as it sounds – going away with the Stags I’ve met some of the most brilliant people I could ever wish to meet and have had adventures in some of the most strange places. I’ve written before about the adventures and people I’ve met and come to be friends with as a supporter, memories I’ll cherish forever – an example would be going to Northwhich Victoria a few seasons back and hogging a children’s zip wire! I have to admit at the start of the season when I knew I’d be nowhere near the supporters coach or terraces because of my media work, I shed a little tear because I thought those silly little story’s would be no more – 11 months on and wow, how wrong I was!

There are so many story’s from the past campaign it’s difficult to know where to start or what to include as, as you can imagine, there are some more un-publishable stories, mainly involving Scott Rogers’ habit to change song lyrics and James Williamson’s admissions – enough said!

The latter, James, is one of the people I have met solely through my radio work, first encountering the photographer at Chasetown in pre-season. Even though the first conversation was kind of awkward as James seemed to know me but I had no clue to who he was, we became good friends as the season went on, sharing lifts, stealing Jaffa cakes and photographs! You may have seen on my twitter and on Scott’s twitter a regular tweet reading ‘Shock, James is lost again’ – it’s not an exaggeration, James really could get lost walking around his own house – he is once rumoured to have driven past Darlington’s 25,000 seater stadium twice on the way to our league encounter back in September, it was on the afternoon that we discovered his lack of directional sense.

As you’ll more than likely know we tend to arrive at grounds early to set up and prepare for our show, this particular afternoon we had around an hour to kill before going live and as such decided to take full advantage of the free tea and coffee machine the Quakers had purchased with their FA Trophy winnings. Myself and Scott had already figured the tea machine out, poured seven cups a piece and taken them back to our seats in the press box via a mass amount of corridors and stairs, we presumed James had followed until both our phones beeped simultaneously with a text from James reading ‘I got lost, gone back to that media room, come and find me please’ after picking ourselves up from the floor laughing, we eventually went and guided the lost photographer back to the press box, if ever anyone needed one of those baby control lead things, it’s James.

I’d say ‘if ever anyone needed a SatNav’ however James does indeed own a SatNav, it’s just a shame he never follows it. I recall a boiling day back in October when I travelled with James to Forest Green Rovers, an afternoon neither me nor a innocent couple of pheasants won’t forget in a hurry. Making good time, somewhere along the road was a wrong turn taken by captain James who insisted he knew where he was going... the New Lawn ground is reachable via a stretch of tight, bending country lanes which I discovered the previous season on the mini-bus with the fans, James also knew this and found a stretch of road which looked ‘vaguely familiar’ and as such, turned off the SatNav and followed the road. It soon became apparent that after passing the same tree at least 50 times, we we’re lost. Eventually after several ‘I’m sure it’s down here’ comments James turned back and found a main road, where we’d ask for directions – James saw an exit and headed for it, having to swerve for a pheasant who was just there passing the time doing whatever pheasants do when James made the desperate dash for civilisation – the measure of how lost we we’re was the fact the ‘road’ we took wasn’t actual a road, merely a hunters type wood – if I travel to Forest Green with James next season, I’m taking armour just encase! Fortunately we were practically mistake free on the way home and poor Peter the pheasant lives to fight another day!

Near death experiences have been somewhat of a common occurrence around me this season, if an eight mile night time drive with no headlights wasn’t bad enough (a story for another time), being of the company of Chad journalist Stephen Thrikill when his beloved Huddersfield are playing certainly is! I recall a trip to nearby Tamworth where Stephen was covering for John Lomas back in March when the journalist, author and Stags Talk host nearly killed an old lady. Always looking out for the Huddersfield scores to protect his investment from the 2004 play-off final where he bribed the linesman who ruled out Colin Larkin’s goal, Stephens team were looking good for another victory until relegation threatened Rochdale levelled the match eight minutes from time to steal a point. Always the worker, he didn’t get to check the scores until full time when we we’re off air and his match report had been sent – upon seeing that Huddersfield had dropped points, he punched the desk in a fit of rage, fair enough you may think... tell that to the old lady who was walking past at the time who jumped out of her skin and nearly had a heart attack there and then! The looks her family shot in Mr Thirkill’s direction where like James Williamson’s driving in the house of pheasants – near deadly! I have to say that I enjoyed seeing Thirkill get the death stare as before the game, he had frankly destroyed me with banter about my coat, lucky cap and apparent stalkerish nature towards my ex-girlfriend – complete rubbish of course!

There are plenty more story’s to come over the course of the summer, and reflecting on today’s revelations I think we’ve all learnt a few things – James Williamson needs a constant guide, has taken hunting to a whole new level and needs new glasses whilst Stephen Thirkill should be restrained from seeing the football scores in the presence of old ladies, needs to take a look at his own fashion before digging into mine and makes very false claims!

The views expressed in this piece are those solely of the writer and not those of Mansfield Matters or its related organisations. To submit a piece for publication, email mtfcmatters@gmail.com