"So who do you think you are kidding Mr Willis if you think Olde Hilly's Done!"

Click to hear his rallying call!

Maidenhead Advertiser 28th Feb 03:
By Lucy Rutherford
It is a decision which has taken real team spirit but two football clubs in Cookham look set to agree to share one pitch next season.
The Cookham Lions have been searching for grounds in the village where they can play matches.

Last month the group of village dads hit the headlines after upsetting Cookham Dean FC when they played an unauthorised match on their pitch at the Alfred Major recreational ground.

The action nearly caused the cancellation of Cookham Dean’s quarter-final in the Reading League Cup against Rides United, after the waterlogged pitch, which had been pronounced unplayable, was badly cut up. A row broke out over the incident and the Lions were forced to apologise. A solution had to be found to keep the peace as Cookham Dean are responsible for the upkeep of the ground.

On Monday night both sides met at the football club on Hillcrest Avenue to thrash out a solution
Pat Woodbridge, president of the Cookham Dean Club, and a member of the parish council said: "It was a very amicable, informal meeting to see what could be done to help. “ Nothing definite was decided, we have both got to talk to our respective committees but we will sort out an amicable agreement but it really depends on how many teams Cookham Dean are going to run.
"There is a possibility we could be running four youth teams next year but either way there will be cooperation between the two parties.”

Now the clubs are planning further meetings in the coming weeks to build on the new atmosphere of cooperation and both parties expect to finalise arrangements shortly

Maidenhead Advertiser 15th Feb 03:
Football team the Cookham Lions are searching for grounds in the village where they can play matches . Last week the one year old football team of village dads owned up to playing an unorthorised match at Cookham Dean FC's pitch at the Alfred Major recreational ground. The game tore up the waterlogged ground (Yeah sure!) and put Cookham Dean's quater-final (which they played and lost) in the Reading league Cup against Rides United from Wokingham

The Cookham Lions have apologised for using the pitch and bosses from both football teams are due to meet with the Parish Council later in the month to see if it can be shared.

Cookham Dean Football Club took out a 100 year lease on the pitch in 1996. Lions manager and player Tony Willis, said: "we have been training on the public bit of the recreational ground but we need somewhere we can play organised matches. "So far we have played several friendlies, but we hope to maybe start playing in a local league matches next season." "We are due to meet with Cookham Dean FC and the Parish council so we can come to some sort of amicable arrangement. We would like to share the facility on the Alfred Major with Cookham Dean, but they will still have priorityif there is a clash over fixtures.

Chairman of Cookham Dean FC Pat Woodbridge said: "The Lions came forward on Sunday to say they had used the pitch. They should have not have done it, that was irresponsible." "We already had an arrangement with them where they could use our grounds because they have not got their own pitch and they wanted to use our facilities on the Alfred Major. Cookham Dean are responsible for the upkeep of the grounds and they cannot use it when it is not in a playable condition."

Mr Woodbridge added "a formal arrangement would be made at the meeting. The whole point is we are always pleased to accomodate anyone who wants to use our facilities." - phew for that!

Player of the Season - Andy Kipping
Most Improved Player - Johnny (read my book yet?) Acton
Dirtiest Foul - Tony Willis on Nick (boyo) Denholm
Fittest Player - Nigel (pretty boy) Seddon
Cutest Footballing Move - The Rhino Charge by Chris Barrie - - aaarrgghh oh f***!
Injury to be impressed by - Joe 'The Tooth' Viner
Said on the pitch - Nominations were:-
- Flood "come on lads they're crap"
- Kipping "Oi Willis get back, switch it SWITCH IT"
- Willis "Oh phph!, I want the ball in front of ME!"
- Brockwell "Nooooo! not like that play it simple"
- Hill "Now tell me Andy, which part of the foot exactly do you think I should use to kick the ball?" And the winner was of course - John Hill
Best legs - voted by the Lionesses, Dave Chopper Butler.....