Dear MTBS Readers

Welcome to the new season, but more importantly welcome to another year of MTBS

which recently won ‘Magazine of the Year’ (in the PR1 post code). We are keen to bring you

some of your old favourites including look-a-likes, weapon and wonder of the week, Ste

Masterson’s joke of the week and much, much more. With only one weekend of full fixtures

played, members at ‘Royal’ Preston Hockey Club have not disappointed the writers of MTBS

in bringing you, the readers, plenty of entertainment through good humour, mainly at the

expense of one foolish individual or another.

In the coming weeks you will learn how James Sutcliffe was extradited from Wales

indefinitely after a summer of ‘hard work’. Also, how Harry Bennett’s Welsh counterpart

Jacob Draper voided his hockey sponsorship deal, and get to know the new faces of PHC

including an Aussie, a Gibraltan, a Belgian, a Brummy, a Southport(ian) and a Scouser

(plastic).

It needs little more than for me to say, sit back, relax and enjoy what is undoubtedly the

finest journalism this side of the River Ribble (within a quarter-mile radius).

The Editor

DATE 24/09/15 ISSUE TITLE The Egg Shaped Ball Issue

The MTBSTM Rugby World Cup

Competition time – count the number of rugby balls you find in this edition of MTBS to win a free

copy of MTBS next week…good luck!

MTBS – What’s the story? (for those who didn’t know…)

Welcome all Prestonians

MTBS was founded in 2009 when a group of individuals saw the opportunity to publish a weekly newsletter with a

twist. The official RPHC online rag has been a big hit in the past.....and now it is back again for season 2015-16.

The term 'MTBS' or 'Make The Backboard Sing' (to give it its full name) was coined by old fart and legend Tony

Creasey who could often be heard shouting all kinds of abuse from the sideline with his cronies, however "Make The

Backboard Sing Preston" was one of his favourites. We only saw it right that this should be the official name for the

RPHC news and gossip magazine.

What will you find in MTBS?

The overriding purpose of MTBS will remain the same as it always has – to be leading promoter of truth and justice

at West Cliff! With a sophisticated network of spies, moles and undercover reporters working the corridors of power

for us, we will have unrivalled access to breaking stories, rumour, gossip and hearsay. We will uncover the duplicity;

eradicate the waffle and turn over the cheats! No-one will escape our reach!

We'll bring you the big names you want to hear from on a regular basis – learn how Martin Finch has never

accelerated beyond 5mph in his entire hockey career (which ended about 25 years ago); understand what makes

international strike WEAPON, Jon Griffiths, get out of bed in the morning and get advanced leadership knowledge on

how Nige Roberts and Andy Pearson inspires a team young guns, mavericks and has-beens into true champions!

Keep a look out for features including fixtures, match reports, look-a-likes and much, much more…. Already we have

made a key signing by gaining exclusive access to Nick Sutcliffe's diary entries. Be sure to keep up to date with the

“Diary of a Welfare Officer” – a riveting read, especially when you are killing time at Sandbach Service Station.

On a serious note, please provide us with as much content as you can to help keep MTBS relevant and up-to-date.

Remember, there are always two sides to every story and several shades of the truth. Be sure to count on MTBS to

deliver the final and decisive word.

I hope you enjoy the read.

The Editors

PS To download new and past issues of MTBS please follow the 'documents' link under

'information'. You will need to be signed up to the club website in order to download the document.

Men’s

4-2 WIN v Deeside Ramblers Platty opens floodgates in 4-2 victory at Estadio West Cliff

Preston secured their first win of the season in front of a large West Cliff crowd. Preston hosted

Cheshire visitors Deeside Ramblers, however it was Preston who entertained the spectators with

a dominant and controlled victory. Preston started strong and took the game to Deeside. Solid

defensive work from Platt, Taylor and Thompson allowed the midfield freedom to attack hard

and open up the opposition. Despite some promising movement from Deeside’s ex-Pakistani

international Ali Ghazanfar, Adam Wilson had the measure of him and out fought him in all

areas. It wasn’t until the 15th minute when Preston drew first blood. David Greenough stole the

ball off a Deeside defender, slid the ball to Steve Halfhead who forced his way through two

defenders and reverse slapped the ball to the back post where the unlikely goal-scorer Jonathan

Platt was at hand to place the ball in the goal.

Preston continued to attack hard down the right with Ben Scott making piercing runs from

right-half and giving the Deeside defenders plenty to think about. Sutcliffe and Wilson linked

up well in the middle, and provided the opening for the 3rd. Some neat inter-play allowed

Sinclair the space to pick up the ball with his back to goal, jinked past the defender and

goalkeeper and pass the ball into the empty goal.; Preston 2-0 to the good. Preston surged

forward immediately from the goal. Deeside were again caught at the back and the turn-over

was won by Preston. Off the sideline ball Adam Wilson hit a reverse-stick pass hard through a

crowd of players, but David Sullivan was at hand near the far post to deflect the ball home on

the stroke of half time.

Head Coach Peter Nicholson was impressed at half-time however stressed the importance of the

team continuing to play their brand of hockey and tire the opposition out. Within 3 minutes of

the restart Preston went 4-0 up, Greenough being the provided and Ben Heywood at hand to

deflect the ball home at the far post. 8 minutes later Deeside found a way through to win a

short-corner which was dispatched high and hard by Ali Ghazanfar. Despite a number of

opening from Preston including 4 second half short corners they could not hit the back of the

net. Deeside found a second goal through Joe Wright on 58 minutes, however that was to be the

end of the goalscoring for the game. Preston did have to hang on with 9 men for a short period

however they held strong and weathered the storm. Peter Nicholson said after the game “the

team performed very well. It was extremely pleasing to see the passion and desire combine with

the natural skill within the squad reap the rewards on the pitch. We look forward to next week’s

opponents Doncaster on Saturday”.

5-2 WIN v Lancaster & Morecambe 1s

A special thanks to our sponsors at Preston Hockey Club

Martin & Gerri

Potts

Ladies

6-2 WIN v Clitheroe & Blackburn Northern 1s

No game

No game

4-1 WIN v Lancaster & Morecambe 2s

3-2 LOSS v South Lakes 2s

That's another fine mess It was an ominous start for the 4's as a new season

beckoned and the sun burned down on the Ulverston

astro. The team, buoyed by two convincing preseason

victories, were sure that winning the toss was a further

good omen. Or maybe not, because the team then

decided not to turn up for the first half. Preston started

scrappily and their play deteriorated from there, with

some shoddy passing and lacklustre tackling.

Two goals were conceded early on, topped by a third before half time, where keeper Pearson

responded to a ball speeding towards his D. Despite the opposition attackers bearing down on

him, the Cat had time to run out the edge of the D, control the ball and then kick it clear. Oh

well, two out of three wasn't bad... Unfortunately, rather than the ball being kicked cleanly to

Tom Ikin, it rolled gently to the waiting stick of the S Lakes forward.

The half finished with Preston trailing by three goals and Pearson taking an early lead in this

season's Death Pass competition. Stern half time talks from Marshall senior and Nick Smith

(who complained that the only time he touched the ball in the first half was when he pushed the

ball after each of the goals) woke the team from their collective slumber and the second half

started at a brisker pace. Having moved into the centre of midfield, Henry Birchall came to life

and started his jinking and turning runs, as he tried to get a reverse strike into the top corner.

Eventually, the work paid off and Preston got onto the scoresheet through Phil Derry.

S Lakes continued to attack but the Preston defence was now working well, despite Kris

Bamber forgetting to bring his shoes and earning his first green card (and two minutes off the

pitch) under the new rules. With five minutes to go Preston worked the ball forward and

reduced the gap to one goal, as Smith powered (trickled) the ball over the line. Unfortunately it

was too little, too late. Final score South Lakes 3 - Preston 2

1-1 DRAW v Rochdale 2s

2-2 DRAW v Lancaster & Morecambe 3s

Beavers – No Result Posted Badgers 3-3 DRAW v Oxton

Ladies

AWAY v Ulverston 1s – 12.30pm start

AWAY v Longridge 2s – 2.30pm start

No game

Men’s

HOME v Doncaster 1s – 2pm start

HOME v Lindum (Lincoln) 1s – 11.30am start

AWAY v Cheetham Hill 1s – 1pm start

No Game – all day session - 12pm start at The Dug Out @ PHC

AWAY v Springfields 2s – 1.30pm start

HOME v Kirkby Lonsdale 2s – 3.30pm start

Beavers: HOME (KGS) v Northop Hall – 2pm start Badgers: AWAY v Neston South Wirral – 3pm start

Sunday 20th September – PRESTON HC v Deeside Ramblers

£5 ENTRY-

Welcome drink and BBQ included

INTER-national drinking

games!

See Facebook group/Twitter page for more details and contact numbers

NIGHT OF THE

This

Saturday

26th

SEPTEMBER

2015

7:30PM

START

JOIN RPHC FOR OUR FIRST

SOCIAL OF THE SEASON,

WEARING COLOURS/OUTFITS

FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE

WORLD!

7.30PM

START

Reading maps and typing places into a Satnav can be very misleading. It is not uncommon that place names are used

several times over in different parts of the country and even the world; did you know a ‘Birmingham’ can also be

found in Australia and Alabama, USA, as well as the armpit of England situated in the midlands (UK). If you type

‘Preston’ into BBC weather, it’ll fire back 11 matches as well as a multitude of other variants such as ‘Preston on the

Hill’. However, 4th teamer Liam Bedford was clearly passing love notes around class when his Geography teacher was

explaining this. 4th XI Skipper Andy P had arranged a fixture against West Derby, where their pitch is located in Kirkby

(n.b. there may be more than 1 Kirkby in England, or indeed the world). Liam, being the well organised student that

he is, typed it into the Satnav and clicked go.....what could possibly go wrong?! Liam arrived in Kirkby in plenty of

time however had travelled 40 miles in the wrong direction.... he’d arrived in Kirkby Lonsdale! To his credit, he took

the initiative to warm up on the pitch, smashing a few ball into the empty goal before realising that the old man and

his cocker-spaniel were unlikely to be his opposition for the day. Some quick thinking and 105mph driving along the

M6 was enough for Liam to make the push back in Kirkby (near Liverpool) and saved his blushes, however did not

prevent him from making a bold statement in this years charge for Weapon of the Year.

MTBS verdict: Liam, welcome to the RPHC and welcome to the shortlist for Weapon of the Year.

For those who remember Rob

Jones of Liverpool FC you will

remember him as an outstanding defender with a proven track record for both club and country. Preston’s defensive

stalwart Platty shares similar traits, being the rock at the back for several seasons now. However these two also have

something else in common, which is finding the back of the net. In Rob Jones’ 185 appearances he never scored for

Liverpool, nearly 8 seasons. JP however broke his personal Preston hoodoo this weekend against Deeside Ramblers

when he was at hand to slot home the opening goal in the 1st teams 4-2 overhaul of the Cheshire opposition. Platty

was naturally given plenty of praise (and stick!) from the lads after the game, but he was also asked what on earth he

was doing in there so early on in the game, “well I’d made the initial pass to Steve however saw that there was no

support so decided I’d go on a little hunt for goals, and it paid off”.

MTBS verdict: A top effort ‘young’ Platty, one of many more we hope!

Sun 13 Sep Sheffield Hallam Preston

Sun 20 Sep Preston Deeside Ramblers

Sat 26 Sep Preston Doncaster

Sun 04 Oct Wakefield Preston

Sun 11 Oct Preston Durham Uni

Sun 18 Oct Bowdon Preston

Sun 25 Oct Preston Olton & WW

Sun 08 Nov Preston Loughborough Uni

Sat 14 Nov Lichfield Preston

Sun 22 Nov Preston Sheffield Hallam

Sun 29 Nov Preston Bowdon

Sat 30 Jan Deeside Ramblers Preston

Sun 07 Feb Preston Lichfield

Sun 14 Feb Doncaster Preston

Sun 21 Feb Durham Uni Preston

Sun 28 Feb Preston Wakefield

Sun 06 Mar Loughborough Uni Preston

Sun 13 Mar Olton & WW Preston

EHL Conference North 2015-16

All home fixtures will start at 2pm

Come and enjoy a drink at the new PHC bar

Refurbishments underway and ready in October

In the meantime enjoy the new draught ales on offer

Jeanette Bowman will be ready to serve you your delicious pint after a

hard fought victory!!!

RPHC & MTBS - Special Thank You

Preston Hockey Club and the Men’s 1st Team would like to thank David

Platt for all his support and assistance with the 1st team over several

seasons. David has played an important and committed role as

Assistant Manager, Match Delegate and as an Ambassador to the first

team for visiting teams and officials. He has been an invaluable servant

to the 1st team and the club would simply not run without volunteers

such as Platty Senior. He and Elaine will of course continue to

enjoy/endure the 1st team performances as spectators.

Thanks for all your hard work David.

Dear MTBS

I’ve have spent this summer working away in Wales, putting the ‘graft’ in behind a pub bar and of course

doing lots of pulling….pints. When I returned to my righteous home West Cliff, the boys began

interrogating me about what I got up to ‘out of hours’. I feel I’ve got a safe alibi in my friend that I stayed

with, who for the sake of remaining undetected I shall call H. Bonnett. Anyway, Harry has promised that he

won’t say anything to the lads however I’m still worried that stuff might get out about my Lothario

reputation with the Welsh ladies.

Will the lads find out?

Yours truly

JS

Dear JS

Thank you for your letter. We of course understand that being a real hit with the ladies can be a

challenge. However, keeping all this locked behind a facade will not last, it will all come out in the wash

eventually. We’ve seen many a member try it in the past but with embarrassing consequences (see Matt

Hoffman, 2010). I recommend sitting the lads down this weekend at the Night of the Nations social and

spilling the beans. After all, we smell a rat and will not stop until it’s caught.

Yours Sincerely

MTBS

p.s. your dad wants to know if you can umpire the beavers away in Neston at 3pm straight after your

2pm game at West Cliff.

What do you call a man with a

car on his head?

…Jack

Preston Hockey Club is asking for

help from you to raise £500

If you do shopping online,

whether it be for food, clothing, car insurance,

holidays or whatever it may be then you can help

the club raise hundreds of pounds.

It does not cost you anything, but each time you

purchase online the club earns a small

percentage of the cost.

It is very simple:

Sign up to the Preston Hockey Club causes page

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/prestonhockey

Then start shopping using the search bar. Each transaction will

be recorded and the percentage of money donated to PHC

Rugby World Cup

Home to Royal Preston Hockey Club, Estadio West Cliff England RFU National Stadium, Twickenham

1st Team half-back Alex Thompson England lock, Geoff Parling

Solid frame of 6th Team forward Jono Griffiths

Solid frame of Twickenham’s goal posts

We are back!

Good luck to all RPHC teams this weekend. The bar is open all day and the opening club

social is not to be missed.

Please send in all comments/ideas/weapons/wonders and the all rest to

makethebackboardsing@yahoo.co.uk

Peace out.

MTBS Editors.