November 1st 2012 Away V White Lion A

The chilly nights have now returned to St. Albans and the smoke being expelled from the various chimney stacks around the town is just visible as it twists and turns its way up into the night sky. The western Christian feast of All Hallows is upon us and the trick or treaters have returned home pockets bulging from their night of legal racketeering. The darker nights have set in now that the clocks have been turned back but how the Rose & Crown must wish that they could turn them back more than just the hour. Perhaps they wish they could turn the clocks all the way back to the AGM that changed rule 8.7. Veteran Skipper Alan Turner hardly had to rely on his wealth of experience to pick the team as with only six players available to him the side picked it’s self, Indeed it was the skipper himself and fellow veteran and Rose & Crown stalwart Dave Noble who got matters underway just after eight thirty. Taking over from the absent Brothers Grimm this was always going to be a tall order for balding pair who at times offered us a glimpse into the distance past with some patches of vintage arrows but these patches sadly were all to fleeting and the duo quickly succumbed 2-0 to leave the Rose trailing by 1-0. Big Ron who surprisingly had not played a doubles all season, partly one suspects due to the absence of Tony Scott and partly due to the change in format found himself partnering the mercurial John Goode. After losing the first leg the pair were quickly away and were soon a hundred in front but a slip up from Big Ron (7) left the door open for their opponents who didn’t need a second invitation and stormed through it leaving the hapless visiting pair to pick up the pieces of a 2-0 defeat which left the Rose now facing an uphill battle if they were to get anything out this encounter. 2-0 quickly became 2-1 as Neil Crosby partnered by Mulls put the disappointment of their only defeat of the season so far against New Greens behind them to register a crucial victory. Indeed the “Dude” discovered some form that has deserted him for large parts of the season to date and possibly went into the first singles of the night as a slight favourite. The favouritism seemed justified as Neil went straight off and followed it up with two consecutive tons leaving his opponent trailing in his wake before finally securing the first leg on double 4. With his opponent seemingly beaten having also the lost the doubles to Neil this was surely Neil’s chance to take what would later prove to be the pivotal match of the evening. But old habits die hard and Neil’s previous failings came back to hit him like the storm surge of hurricane Sandy as it battered New York into submission earlier this week. Needing what almost approximated 33 darts to get off in the 2nd leg Neil had lost the initiative and his opponent took it with glee putting Neil to the sword to level at one a piece. Neil needed a good start and duly got it having a one hundred lead in the early stages but a ton forty by his opponent opened up a gap and despite a late rally hitting one thirty seven the White Lion opened up a 3-1 lead. It was soon 3-2 however as Big Ron, who despite losing the 2nd leg to Steve Herring always looked in control and never looked like losing duly checking out 48 for a 2-1 victory. 3-2 soon became 3-3 and the fight back was on as John Goode who came back after losing the 1st leg and registered a victory with an impressive spell that at one stage saw him hit two straight tons. Skipper Alan Turner was up next but it was always going to be a tall order for possibly the leagues’ longest serving captain as the hosts had a wealth of talent available to them as they restored their lead. Mulls pulled it back to 4-4 to set up the finish but in truth the Rose and Crown’s chance slipped away in the pivotal first singles of the evening and Dave was just fodder for the home side condemning the Rose & Crown to a fourth successive 5-4 defeat.

October 18th 2012

No darts this week so i thought I'd leave you with this:- The Oche the dojo to hurl wolfram and feather Gladiators divided yet still close together The rattle of the wire the odd one bouncing out Sixty on the floor the supporters do shout A fight to the death but contact there’s none Hit one hundred and eighty the games there to be won The contest continues and no quarter is given And the doubles are missed but are they forgiven

Rose & Crown v Evergreens October 11th 2012

After a run of 2 straight defeats the Rose & Crown were aiming to go into the two week break with a morale boosting victory against a depleated Evergreens side. Any thought of this however was dismantled and disappeared faster than Jimmy Savilles headstone. What looked liked a relatively straight forward two points turned into anything but as a disorganised Rose & Crown looked impotent and out of touch seemingly failing to come to terms with the new format against the visitors. The visitors who, lost their most inspirational player in Ashley Rudge at the Start of the season to the Mermaid, followed quickly by Jimmy Meryick at the 11th hour for personal reasons. It could be argued however that the Rose & Crown had lost their vice skipper and who for many throughout the darting world thought as their most influential player Tony Scott but what can't be argued is the devastating loss of Neil Crosby which has come as a hammerblow to the St. Michaels outfit this season. His replacement but a shadow of the former junior and St. Albans District Darts league Doubles champion. Where once a youthful but enigmatic Neil "The Dude" Crosby would stride out confidently muscling his way to the oche to take the all important first single, there is now only a balding, middle aged and predictable player with less enthusiasm to elbow his way to the front than a group of special needs children on a backstage visit to the BBC studios. In truth the blame for this dismal performance doesn't lay solely at Neil's feet and some of the senior players must shoulder some of the blame, Paul Mullins for failing to convert a one leg lead in the final doubles of the evening and the "Brothers Grimm" for a performance the Brothers Marx would surely gave been proud of as the Evergreens virtually laughed their way to the first doubles of the evening. Big Ron could only watch from the bar forced once again to sit out and endure at best this abject display that began to unfurl. The only bright spark coming when veterans Dave Noble and Skipper Alan Turner stole the second doubles of the evening honing their predatory instincts on the board like a Radio 1 DJ inside the confines of the children's ward of the local hospital. 2-1 down and the pivotal single fell to the person who was once Neil Crosby. Gone was the swagger, gone was the youthful exuberance, the boundless energy and the non stop insessant chatter, replaced by a now sullen look, receeding hairline and all the accuracy Of a West Yorkshire Police officers account of the Hillsborough disaster. Now 3-1 down the home side were facing an uphill battle to salvage anything from a game which on paper should surely have yielded two points and safe passage to mid table. If things could get any worse they were about to do so. Big Ron who must of been scratching his head for most of the season wandering what he'd done not to warrant a doubles so far was about to find out why. The usually dependable big Ron summed up the Rose & Crown this evening. An evening which lacked the electrically charged atmosphere which propelled the Rose to such famous victories in the past, an evening devoid of nouse and urgency, an evening filled with nothing but desperation and inacuracy. It was as if Big Ron had sucked in the amtmosphere and ambience and then let it manifest it's self painfully over two gruelling legs of darts. 4-1 down and Rose and Crown were all but done needing 4 of the last 5 legs to secure an unlikely victory. Hopes were raised momentarily as Ian defied his earlier doubles performance to secure a hard fought and unlikely victory against the conqueror of the previous undefeated pairing of Crosby and Mullins. Mullins further raised hopes in a comfortable 2 straight legs victory to bring the Rose back in to the game at 3-4. The mountain however, was still insurmountable and Kevin yet again tasked with reaching the summit came up short and handed the spoils to the overjoyed visitors. John Goode made the score respectable but in truth it was a dead rubber which only masked this most inadequate of performances.

Thursday October 4th away to the "Billet" Colney Heath

The red glow that greeted us could almost have been mistaken for the deep red of the setting sun across the African savannah and the local wild life reminiscent of a heard of wilderbeast as they gathered around the local watering hole to quench their thirst before the long night set in.  But this was no Kenyan safari , this was the Crooked Billet, Colney Heath, one of St. Albans furthest outposts. The red glow was no setting sun but instead a shrine of membeobilia dedicated to the once great Arsenal and the wilderbeast, the dart players that supped their Ale  as the sun's heat became a distant memory. Football programmes denoting past sucesses adorned every wall from Bob Wilson and the epic Double winning team of '71 to the invincibles of 03-04 but recent times have been barren and indeed  It has been many years now since the trophy cabinet at the emirates was furnished with any silverware and judging by the performance of the Billet last night they look set fair to emulate the trophy less years of the once mighty "Gooners". They may have won (albeit 5-4) but in years gone by, before the league decided it would  slice open the underbelly of the "little teams", the "unfashionable" ones and then reach inside  pulling free their intestines and leaving their soul to bleed dry, this would have been a well earned draw and probably the most that could be expected. For those who are not blessed with superstar county players that are only too happy to corral themselves in the top three to four teams all clamouring to add yet another "ornate pot" to the already overcrowded mantelpiece that overflows with the very best re-cycled plastic that money can buy, the ability to skilfully play as a player and orchestrate the draw as captain earned themselves a sense of worth and the thought, even if it was for the briefest moment that they too were superstars if only for one night have now had this cruelly stripped from them. One must surely then question the very wisdom of those who voted to increase the format to six singles thus preventing the draw and in the process exorcising the most fundamental of sporting results, for who can declare Benn Vs Eubanks 2 a "waste of time" and who asked for their money back as there was no "winner" on the night as the two fighters fought and slugged their way to what is probably the most famous draw in British sporting history ( barring the 1877 boat race)  .  So i digressed, anyway, Awash with superstars the Billet struggled against a not only underpar Rose and Crown but also a depleted one that lacked the nouse and experience of the inspirational Tony Scott and the sharp wit and quick tounge of the "Director" and they could have easily been embarrassed but for the inaccuracy of "the dude" who luckily missed by a country mile when sacrificing his own throat!!  A strong start saw the Billet ease in to a 1-0 lead as the brothers Grimm were no match for Nick Webbley and co. But Mullins and "the dude" restored parity for the Rose paving the way for Skipper Alan Turner and Dave Nobel to hopefully send them into a 2-1 lead. Alas this was not going to be the case and despite taking the first leg the Billet sailed into the singles one point to the good, all "Big Ron" could do was watch from the sidelines. It was now make or break. The first single was going to be pivotal, lose this and a two leg deficit was going to be virtually insurmountable, the Rose needed a mountaineer, they needed their very own Sir Edmund Hilary....what they got instead was Neil Crosby. So 3-1 down now and with Sherpa Tenzing nowhere to be seen John Goode adorned his crampons and quickly climbed in to a one leg lead and with momentum behind him now he reached the summit hauling the Rose & Crown up with him. 3-2 was soon to become 4-2 however as Kevin was unable to follow in John's footsteps. "Big Ron" who patiently waited all night finally got his chance and he didn't disappoint as he pulled one back for the St. Michaels outfit. Two down, one to play Mullins on next, surely 4-3? A nervy start saw Mullins fail to register a double early on and in so doing conceding the first leg but this proved to be nothing more than a blip as Mullins secured the next two legs (albeit not with his usual confident manner) to draw the sides level and leave the decider to Ian. Facing Derek Ralph Ian succumbed fairly quickly in the first but grew in confidence in the second and had the beating of his taller opponent but unfortunately for the Rose couldn't hit that all important double and the Billet claimed the game at half past eleven five games to four.

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Thursday September 20th 2012

Controversy rules as the 2012-13 St. Albans district Darts league season kicked off last Thursday for the Rose & Crown. Drawn away to the White Lion “b” for the first week of the campaign the Rose had the bare minimum of six players (or seven if you include the self-styled “Director of Darts”) needed now that the league had voted on a new format of 3 doubles and 6 singles. Club secretary John Goode however had other ideas and was insistent that the format was amended to only include 5 singles thus enabling the draw. This did not go down well with the home team and set the scene for the remainder of the evening with the home team’s skipper feeling particularly disgruntled. Discussion followed debate and the situation was given hope of avoiding the decent into a mockery when John gave in and called “Foggy”. Two minutes later “Foggy” confirmed what everyone else in the pub already knew and that six singles were to be played.   The Rose quickly raced into a 3-0 lead, I say quickly, each going the full three legs with the home side wasting opportunities to reverse the score. They didn’t have to wait long however before chalking up their first legs of the season as they took the spoils of the first two singles. By this stage the clock was ticking and it was gone 11 o’clock and concerns were raised as to the format greatly lengthening the evening, concerns that were well founded as the last Dart rattled in to double eight securing a 7-2 victory and two points for the visitors at 23:50.

Thursday September 27th 2012

With the weather on the turn and the chilly evenings starting to take effect winter league darts made a welcome return to the Rose & Crown last night. The car park was still a squeeze and took John a couple of goes to fit his car snugly in its place, helped largely by the rear sensors and the guidance of “DD”. As we turned out of the car park and onto the street the sun was in its last throes casting the centuries old tavern in its warm glow. The smokers as if caught in time were still huddled around the door as they had been since the smoking ban was introduced some four or five years earlier. Inside the fires still burned, their warmth only interrupted as the unwary patrons upon their exit left the door agape. To all intense and purposes it was a typical scene that was being played out at all manner of village pubs up and down the country. But something was different, something had changed. It was five minutes to eight and not a dart player in sight. Where once you would expect “Ming” to be scrapping for yet another fifty pence piece over a game of tactics with possibly eight or nine fellow dart players, there was only silence. Where once Neil would whine like a baby and throw his darts to floor as if toys from a pram lamenting that “stupid game”, the floor was bare. Where once these finely “tuned athletes” strained every sinew hurling their precisely engineered barrels of wolfram at the board hoping and praying at all costs it wouldn’t be a brush and cost them a pound, the board was just pierced by stark white light from the ceiling mounted spots above. It’s now five minutes past eight and the darts players are in attendance all lining up meaninglessly awaiting their turn to thrust the cold wolfram into the Stark new board. Once the atmosphere here would crackle with electricity as “Scotty” picked the teams that would do battle and we can still hear the phrase “I’ll play with Tom” echo around the once nicotine stained walls even today. But this is 2012 and “Scotty” is not here, at least not yet and nor is the spark that would once ignite the fire for that early evening competition. This is where the true darts were played. Tactics. We may have taken points from the “Inn on the Green” we may have heroically gone to London Road with just six players and come back victorious, we may have even beaten the Crooked Billet into submission but this nothing to winning 50p off Scotty but instead now each takes their turn not even registering as they strike the board.   The visitors are here now, Townsend Tennis and bowls club, familiar foes and bristling with a mix of youth and experience but lacking their talisman Barry Curran a semi nomadic team that have made their way around St. Albans before settling down.   It’s leg ‘n’ leg in the first and the tension now is starting to rise Kevin wants 21 but leaves Ian 3. Townsend fluff their lines and Ian bags the first game.   Paul and Neil up next and before we know what’s happening Townsend are a leg to the good. A good solid start in the second leg aided by the oppositions inability to start and they claw it back to leg ‘n’ leg. Again the tension can be felt all around the room and all that can be heard is “DD” chattering inanely. Third leg and it’s nip ‘n’ tuck all the way down then one, double one and the Rose are two nil up.   Dave and Skip take to the board but don’t have enough to contain the opposition and its 2-1   The singles start and “Big Ron” gets the Rose off to a flyer, but wait where is the third tray of sandwiches without “Scotty” here the whole place is in turmoil not only can no one keep “DD” but the third tray of sandwiches has gone missing. Hurry back Tony.   So at 3-1 and the missing sandwiches now making their appearance can Neil the “Dude” Crosby extend the lead. After losing the first leg Neil hits straight back clinching a tension filled second leg but old demons come back to haunt him and he surrenders the initiative and Townsend pull it back to 3-2 Ian and John then fall short and the Rose find themselves 3-4 down. Paul squares the match at 4-4 and in times gone by would have earned them a valuable point but the new format mean a sixth singles and Kevin finds himself no match for his youthful counterpart and Townsend take the spoils.