Steve Bracknall’s column: Together as one - Sunday league football will prevail

We had lost 4-1 and were six points adrift at the bottom of the Sheffield Sunday Imperial League.

Wynny, our talented but unpredictable number 10 had failed to even turn up, Housey “the utility man”, once again failed to pay his subs and my pre match plea to man mark on corners had been ignored.

Post-match, whilst the lads tucked into to their chip butties, I did some soul searching that afternoon in the Royal Oak, the pub from which we run our 16-year-old Sunday league football club.

Little did I know what was in store for us all, none of us did. Fast forward June 2020 and I’m on a Zoom meeting with the head honchos of the Sunday Imperial League. They had called upon representatives from each club in Sheffield to take a vote on how the final league positions would be decided. I was out voted.

Relegation via a computer algorithm meant relegation to the 4th tier for the 9th time in our history. The dream of competing in the Meadowhall Premier League seemed more distant than ever.

It didn’t come as a surprise to me. I won’t be the first and I won’t be the last assistant manager to stand up to the powers that be. I believe Sunday league football should be decided on the parks of Sheffield not via a computer. Otherwise, we may as well play it out on our Ben’s Xbox via FIFA 2021.

The truth is however that it all pales into insignificance compared to what we’ve all been through on a personal level this last 12 months. On the Royal Oak’s club badge read the words “Simo Amul”. It’s Latin for “Together as one”. It’s a motto that goes way beyond Sunday league football, it’s a motto for how we all navigate our way out of this period.

How can I ask Housey to repay the £11.50 subs he owes when the lad has been furloughed for the last 12 months? The truth is I can’t, and I won’t.

That doesn’t mean we do not have a collective duty to get this club back on its feet.

Whether that be arriving an hour earlier to clean the dog dirt off our home pitch, taking it in turns to wash the home kit or ensuring that our annual race night is given the green light later in the year. Sunday League football and the Royal Oak FC will prevail.

We might be in the fourth tier following last year’s relegation but there is still a cup run on the cards. And believe me when I say I still believe in the romance of the cup.

I wish all fellow Sunday league football managers all the best this coming year. Even our arch-rivals Mosborough FC.

Together as one.

Steve Bracknall – Assistant Manager, Royal Oak Football club

A short film: ‘Bracknall’ is released online this Friday.