The wind has just dropped on the last Saturday of February at Stoke Lane. A calm atmosphere at the home of Carlton Town FC.
The supporters trickle in, still an hour until kick off. Some visit the food stand, some walk the parameters of the pitch. One away fan remarks that they could have gotten to Tenerife in the time it took them to get here.
There is no visible undercurrent of a relegation scrap, or a club doing all it can to adjust to the demands of a new league.
At the end of last season, which was a very successful one, finishing sixth in the league, they were moved to the Northern Premier League Division One East, which has had dreadful consequences for one of Gedling’s oldest teams.
Due to the league change, the club now at times have to travel around 100 miles for away games, a trip they will be making in two weeks’ time against today’s opposition, Hebburn Town. With costs sometimes in excess of £1k, it is not an easy trip to make.
Mick Garton, chairman of the club, said: “To put it in a nutshell, the game got held up today because they were late coming here, so we kicked off 15 minutes late.
“We’ve got to go there on a Tuesday night, so that just puts things a little bit into perspective.
“A lot of our away trips this season have been around that (£1k) mark this season, most of the games are further away but particularly the six in the north east.
“We worked out our coach travel last season the bill was £4.5k and this season it was going to be nearer £12k in total.”
Last season, the Millers were in the Midlands equivalent of their current division, playing against teams like Ilkeston Town and Halesowen Town. Their furthest trips that year were to the likes of Cambridge City and Wisbech Town. Compared to their furthest games this year, these were around 50 miles closer.
The club also won the Nottingham Senior Cup last year, a competition which they have made the finals of again this year.
Town have also endured the unfortunate situation of having a game cancelled twice, the game which they are now due to play in two weeks’ time against today’s opposition. Mick said: “We had players there and it got called off at the last minute.
“People have got to take time off work, and you’ve got to compensate people. We would have liked the game to be on a Saturday and we put a request into the league but unfortunately that was denied.
The dressing room atmosphere is always a key factor for any club, and undoubtedly the move would have had some impact. But for a cohesive team like Carlton, the dressing room bonds are stronger than the challenges.
Mark Harvey, in his fourth season as joint manager of Carlton Town, said that: “I think that the impact on the dressing room at the start of the season was hard. Obviously we lost a couple of players because they didn’t want to or weren’t prepared to travel.
“I think everybody was on a bit of a downer about it right at the start because of the travel.
“We found it a lot more difficult to sign players, because you offer them x amount and they’ve got to be leaving at 9am and get back at 10pm, but local clubs in local Nottingham leagues are offering them the same money to turn up and be home for 6pm.
“As far as the dressing room goes, we’re lucky we’ve got such a tight bunch from last year and the ones that stayed have stayed tight. Even through adversity the dressing room is still very good, which is credit to them because they could have wanted out, but they stayed positive.
“Everyone’s giving everything they’ve got, you can’t say anyone’s not trying. We just keep going on and plugging on and try and get out of this.”
The club now have 11 games left this season, seven of which are against teams in the top half of the table. Mixed in with these games are relegation 6 pointers against Lincoln and Grantham, but Mark emphasised that the calibre of opposition is making no difference to their outlook on fixtures.
“I actually posted to the lads on the group, we’ve literally taken 18 points off the top eight this season. Out of I think 24 points.
“This league, there’s nothing between top or bottom of the league. No matter who you play, it’s the same game. They all seem to play the same style of football, and the top sides don’t appear to me to be much better than the bottom sides.
“I feel we’re just as capable of beating the top sides as we are the bottom sides. Psychologically you can go into games against the top sides with more freedom and less pressure on you because you’re not expected to beat them.
Both Mick and Mark still feel there is hope for this season, and that if they are just able to get a run going they will be in the arms of safety in no time. But despite this, both say they eyes are firmly locked on the present, with no wavering thoughts about what could be for next season.
There is also the possibility that, should the Millers stay up, they could be able to move back into the Midlands league, which would be hugely beneficial for the club
Mick said: “I’ve not thought about next season because at this point we could be in any one of three leagues.
“Nobody wants to get relegated. We don’t want to get relegated. Our hope is we stay up and we get moved back into the Midlands league.
As for Mark, his mind was closer to the present still: “I only ever look as far as the next game, no matter what position we’re in.
