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JOHN CULLEY'S LITTLE BIT OF AYRESOME PARK
John Culley recalls
the experience of a lifetime as he gets hold of his own little piece
of Ayresome Park. This story can also be seen in the book, Ayresome
Park Memories, written by John Wilson and Eric Paylor.
Stephen Pears XI against Select XI- here it is, the last ever game
at Ayresome Park.
How do you fall in love with concrete, steel and grass? I don't
know but like thousands before me, I just did. Now it would no longer
be there and it was sure to feel like having a leg off. Ayresome
Park had always been there. It just felt right to be there, even
in the bad times. You just kept going there; some unseen force pulling
you there every other week. Even in the Summer when there was no
football, every now and then, I'd walk in, have a look at the grass
and walk out.
As a local referee at the time, my prayers had been answered. I
got the call from Jeff Winter. 'Will you run the line for me at
Pearsy's testimonial?' Run the line? I'd have run there over broken
glass for the privelege. Better still, my son Chris, 13 at the time
was a ballboy.
Confirmation arrived from the club and is still treasured now. Along
with it arrived tickets for the 100 Club and a pass for the underground
car park. The words 'underground car park' jumped out at me - this
was my chance - I would have to have a piece of Ayresome Park to
take home with me.
The day arrived and we were there three hours before kick off. Into
the very bowels of the famous old ground. I rummaged around through
piles of goal posts and groundsman's equipment, all covered in years
of dust and debris. I picked my way through the pile. Goalpost?
No, too long. Groundsman's line marking machine? No, too heavy and
besides, it was full of lime. There had to be something that would
fit in my little hatchback.
Then there it was, Excalibur like. Just a little corner sticking
out from under the pile. NORTH SEAT STANDS in the familiar red and
white lettering. I felt like that gadgie who found Tutenkhamen's
tomb as I made out the inscription through the dust.
"Chris- lift that crossbar up." I found I had strength that I didn't
know I had as I wrenched the red framed sign free from the pile
of rubble. Just as my son let go of the woodwork and a massive cloud
of dust dating back to 1903 enveloped us both.
"I've got my souvenir", I said to Jeff as I walked into the ref's
room brushing the dust out of my hair and clothes. Jeff shook his
head as I told him why I looked like a ragman instead of a linesman.
I had my little piece of Ayresome Park.
Buy Ayresome Park Memories here
John
Culley is co-owner of The Longlands Hotel, 293 Marton Road, Middlesbrough.
The Longlands is a terrific place to stay when you are in town and
is also full of Boro memorabilia. If you need to book, call 01642
244900.
Longlands Hotel website
BACK TO FANS INDEX
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £40.00 ON NOTTINGHAM FOREST v READING
Here we go again - the season is about to begin! And did you know that it is possible to win money on Sunday afternoon's Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and Reading, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 1.15pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £40.00, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £40.00 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £89.00 on the Nottingham Forest v Reading match and we will collect £131.26 if Nottingham Forest win, £130.04 if Reading win and £129.00 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 45%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Extrabet
 .
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £22.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £42.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £22.00 on the draw at 3.25 (9/4) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on the draw as well. You will now have £32.00 riding on the draw.
Back Reading with £42.00 at 2.58 (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Nottingham Forest at 2.68 (13/8) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Nottingham Forest.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £89.00 on the Nottingham Forest v Reading match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game. All winnings are paid out on the ninety minute result.
If it's a draw, you collect £129.00. That's £104.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Reading win, you collect £130.04. That's £105.04 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Nottingham Forest win you collect £131.26. That's £106.26 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Nottingham Forest v Reading match is it is a draw and you make £40.00 profit. However, if Reading win you make £41.04 and if Nottingham Forest win you make £42.26. That's a minimum profit of 45%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
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