“You make 10 passes and I give you £10,” Pascal Chimbonda shouts at the manager of Kendal Town, while witnessing them defeat his Skelmersdale United 3-1. The World Cup finalist was unhappy with the direct style of football on display in the Macron Cup, as he learned the realities of being a ninth-tier manager.
Quite what Chimbonda was expecting on a night of gales and rain in Burscough, where North West Counties League Premier Division Skelmersdale ground-share, is unknown. His opposite number, Jimmy Marshall, is a train driver who enjoyed a night of sweary badinage with the former Tottenham defender, while the assistant referee offered constant good humour despite every decision being questioned by Chimbonda, who made his presence known.
