Alliance affiance

These days its clubs are drawn mostly from within a few miles of the banks of the Tyne, but the Alliance has spread far.

The most northerly team may have been Berwick United Ultras, the most westerly Workington – Workington Reserves, anyhow – and the most southerly Guisborough Town, as recently as 1980 when they reached the FA Vase final at Wembley.

Perhaps feeling a bit out of things, Guisborough then moved to the Midland League and fell off the other end of the earth.

Over the years they’ve embraced Walker Wimcomblee and Wylam Home Service, Shankhouse Black Watch, Gosforth Bohemians, Amble Vikings and New York United.

The last, on balance, may not be the large city across the pond – think of the referee’s expenses – but the rather smaller community this side of North Shields. They didn’t last, anyway.

EACH guest last Thursday received a copy of Goalmouth, the Alliance’s new history. It was formed in July 1890 at a meeting in the Neville Hotel, Durham, the first teams Bishop Auckland, Birtley, Elswick Rangers, Sunderland A, Whitburn, Rendel and Gateshead NER.

The first secretary was Tom Watson, a red-faced and jolly man with a semi-permanent cigar in his hand. He’s the Liverpool connection and may be yet more greatly revered by Sunderland supporters.

Watson had become Sunderland’s secretary – manager, effectively – in 1889, the year before they joined the Football League. They won the first division in 1892, 1893 and 1895 – “the team of all the talents,” said Football League founder William McGregor – before Watson moved to the Mersey in 1896 and pretty much walked on water there, too.

He remained in charge for 19 years – longer than Shankly, longer than Paisley – twice led his team to the championship and once to the FA Cup final.

His methods, it’s said, included a great deal of whisky – applied within and without – and a players’ diet that embraced chops, eggs and stale bread for breakfast, a glass of beer or claret with dinner, but tobacco only in moderation.

After his death, aged just 56, the Liverpool Echo obituarist recalled Big Tom’s heady days at Sunderland. “They were well trained, not mollycoddled, not overpaid.

“If there was one man who had the supreme gift of creating esprit de corps in a football team, it was him. He hammered and forged to perfection the steel-tempered football team that was the irresistible Sunderland.”

Tom Watson, where wast thou at this hour?

RON Greener’s funeral near-filled St Cuthbert’s Church in Darlington. The memories would have overflowed Westminster Abbey.

Ron treasured his mementoes, would spread them over the dining room table – the Quakers' 4-1 win over Chelsea, victory over West Ham, the match against Bolton Wanderers.

“A marvellous man,” said the Rev Robert Williamson, the vicar (though he himself was raised in Liverpool and idolised Roger Hunt).

Darlington FC director David Mills recalled that Ronnie’s record number of appearances included 132 consecutive games, a sequence only interrupted when snow prevented his getting across the A66 to Workington.

We sat next to Mick Peacock, Quakers’ goalkeeper in 1959 after signing from Shildon in the then-amateur Northern League. “I got paid better at Shildon,” he said.

Mick also had a theory on why Ron could make so many uninterrupted appearances. “We wore proper boots in those days. They’re just carpet slippers now.”

A REMINDER that, amid all the other fireworks tonight, world snooker champion Stuart Bingham will be giving an exhibition at Darlington Snooker Club – corner of Northgate and Corporation Road, opposite the Odeon cinema. Admission is £20, pay at the door or details on 01325 241388. A beer festival runs simultaneously and, for an extra £1.50, world-class pie and peas, too.

LAST week’s piece on Durham County darts player Liz Tait recalled that her mentor was Sid Dowson – landlord of the Kings Head in Stanley, board member of the British Darts Organisation and the game’s voice on Tyne Tees Television – Double Top – and elsewhere.

It prompts a friendly email from Olywn Gunn, Sid’s daughter and Durham County councillor for the Willington area. “Our family contend that it was dad who first used that very special drawn-out intonation when calling out 180 and not the other Sid, to whom it’s often attributed,” she says.

The late Sid Waddell’s autobiography is somewhere around the house. Watch this space.

….and finally, last week’s question caused mathematical mayhem. We’d asked the two highest numbers which could be written out without using the same letter twice. The recognised answer – which none managed without prompting – is eighty-four and five thousand, though Jo Pearson seeks to differ.

“What about forty-six cubed?” she emails, from Spain. Forty-six cubed is 97,336.

A little more predictably, readers are today invited to name the former England cricketer, still playing in the County Championship, who will be 40 on Christmas Day.

Shop early, the column returns next week.