First outing for my vuvuzela*

Ooh, Curzon Ashton v Manchester United XI. Or as they’re better known, Manchester United Reserves. This was the first of Curzon’s friendly matches and it was a joy to watch. The Man United squad showed why they play for Man United. Technically brilliant and fantastic to watch, I’m sure we’ll be seeing many of them in the Manchester United first team in the very near future.

As a first outing for the new Curzon squad they were quite impressive. They played like a team, which I suppose they should considering all but two of them used to play together at Mossley.  Unfortunately, the only other player from last season, Chris McDonagh, was unable to play as he'd picked up an injury in training. It was great to see so many children being brought to the match by their parents. It's a pity they don't continue to come and watch their local team when there isn't a big name to draw them in.

I’m not sure anyone would have been expecting Curzon to win this match. And of course they didn’t. They were beaten by four goals to one in what was, I suppose, a bit of a David and Goliath match. Except Goliath won. But it was still a very entertaining match and it provided a glimpse of what is possible for the season for the Curzon players.

The award for the most irritating person of the night went to the PA announcer. His inability to speak properly makes me think that possibly he’s not the right person for the job. He constantly gets his words jumbled up and is unable to say more than four or five words without an ‘err’. His problems pronouncing the Curzon players names even after they’ve been playing all season mean that visiting team players don’t stand a chance. As for the club sponsors, PP Plasma, well, how difficult is that to say? Apparently, it’s very difficult. They were repeatedly referred to as PP Plasna all evening.

So the positives for the next season - the pitch is looking very nice and springy, the squad is looking like they will settle in quite nicely and the ticket prices are the same as last season. The negatives – well, let’s just see what happens, shall we.

*Not really