Football, sleep, repeat: Sandhurst Town and a fixture pile-up for the ages

“I think it is not right,” griped Erik ten Hag, surveying Manchester United’s fixture schedule. “When we start talking about it, I get really angry,” seethed Jürgen Klopp, bemoaning two games a week.

Those blessed with charter aircrafts and elite recovery facilities might spare a thought for the lower orders of English football. The wettest winter on record has taken a scything toll on schedules for teams without undersoil heating and drainage systems. Many non-league clubs have reached pile-up situations, though none quite like the Berkshire club Sandhurst Town, of the Combined Counties League Division One, step six in the pyramid system, who this week played – and won – on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Saturday’s home match against the west London club Rayners Lane will be the Fizzers’ seventh game in 10 days. After that come fixtures on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

The aim is to chase down Berks County to claim the Division One title. Promotion to the Premier Division is in their hands despite Berks winning 2-1 at Sandhurst’s Bottom Meadow last Thursday. “We were very poor that night,” says the academy director and coach Liam Parrington, a 37-year-old who came out of a retirement he dates as “eight to 10 years ago” to help along a group made up mostly of 17- to 20-year-old academy players stepping up into a seniors league. “They were banging on the dressing room walls,” he says of that defeat by bitter rivals Berks. “But in a way, that kicked us on.”

Thurs 6 April Bedfont (a) D 2-2Sat 8 Cove (h) W 3-2Mon 10 Langley (a)  W 3-2Thurs 13 Berks County (h) L 2-1Sat 15 Eversley & California (a) W 3-0Mon 17 FC Deportivo Galicia (h) W 4-0Tues 18 Bedfont (h) W 1-0Weds 19 Molesey (h) W 1-0Thurs 20 Woodley