BAMBER BRIDGE'S weird and wonderful weekend saw their players transported to a pub on the back of a tractor for hours of drinking on the chairman – but for midfielder Jamie Milligan, it was a ‘farmer' serious situation!
When the team's coach broke down on the way back from their opening day goalless draw at Scarborough, the stranded side faced a long time sitting by the side of the road miles from anywhere.
Assistant manager Neil Reynolds didn't like the idea of being on a grass bank waiting for a replacement bus to arrive and took matters into his own hands.
Boss Neil Crowe says it was the ride of his life as the team belted out songs for miles before arriving at the Robin Hood pub in Middleton – but there was a downside to their big adventure.
“The idea came from my number two who really didn't fancy the idea of sitting on the side of a country road for hours on end with the players,” the manager explained.
“We were 45 minutes into our 120-mile trip home when the coach lost power. We got out and suddenly Neil spotted a tractor and said to the farmer ‘you aren't going to believe what I am about to ask but would you mind giving 20 lads a lift to the nearest pub in the back of your tractor?'
“The driver said ‘hop in!' and that's how it happened. We had a great time getting to the pub and a great time at the pub.
“We were there for nearly four hours. Plenty of pool was played and a fair few drinks put away. The good thing was the club agreed to foot most of the bill – it ran into quite a few hundred!”
The Evo-Stik NPL North club were missing one of their main men who had a rather pressing engagement.
“There was a bit of a downside to it all,” Crowe added. “It was Jamie Milligan's wedding day and most of us were going to his reception when we got home.
“That was the plan anyway. We didn't get home until long after midnight as the replacement coach took so long to arrive, so we didn't make it. We were gutted, he is so popular in football and the boys love him.
“But we all did a video which he saw and hopefully he understood. It's fair to say we raised a glass or two in his honour to toast the happy couple. It was certainly a day we won't forget.”
Crowe says there's no excuse for a lack of togetherness considering the team bonding session his side underwent last Saturday.
The manager added: “They're a tight group anyway who battle for each other but with a bit of luck the experience will bring them even closer.”
