Earlier this year I wrote about my experience playing for Prince Albert, a team in the Ashford & District Sunday Football League.
My last update had brought me to a crossroads; facing a fight for my place in the starting line up, with increased absences caused by a new job and the responsibility of being a father leading me to consider my options.
I played on, starting and finishing all the remaining games which Iwas available for including the 2-1 home victory over Mersham Sports which confirmed our place in the District's top division. Yet not all was well behind the scenes and in the lead up to the last game two key players departed the club.
In August the manager asked me about my availability for the pre-season friendlies and I informed him not to count on me for the foreseeable future although I wasn't going to sign for any other team. I would come along to watch a game, get involved and play when I could.
Unfortunately the pre-season games did not go well. Despite hopes for a squad of sixteen players, only nine players made it for the first game and a similar amount the next. The following week the manager posted in the group chat that he felt there was no choice but to withdraw the team from the league because it was unable to meet its obligations. One of the players posted it was a shame but 'inevitable'.
So after close to 50 years of existence, Prince Albert Football Club was gone and subsequently the decision about what I should do on Sunday mornings had been made for me. For now at least, my footballing tale had been brought to a halt, gone not with a bang but a whimper.