Joe Forrest

Dudley Sports Football Club Joe Forrest

As the year comes to an end, with all of us isolated from each other by this pandemic, I realize that the football club in which I have been heavily involved in is now 40 years old. I decided to put down in words those who care to share my memories of the club. The best place to start, so I'm told, is at the very beginning, so that would be 1976. (Yes, I know that is more than 40 years ago.) I had recently left lye town football club and really had no more interest in any involvement with football. Joan and I started to frequent the birch coppice pub on Friday nights, where we always met up with a great bunch of lads from quarry bank. Several of these lads all worked together at M& G trailers in lye and played for the local football team, Dunn's banks rovers. During a conversation, I was told the manager at M& G trailers wanted to speak to me. As I pointed out, I was not looking for a job, so I inquired as to why he wanted to see me. It turned out he himself managed a local works team in Brierley hill and was looking for someone to take over the first team. my initial feelings were forget it, I'm not interested, but after several of the lads continuously bringing it up every week, it got to the point I said I would go along and meet this bloke, really, just out of courtesy. So up to the trailers I go, ask if I can see the works manager and become bombarded with questions: what's your name, have you got an appointment, what is it about. I was just about to say 'bollocks I'm off' when this bloke pops his head round the corner. "Are you Joe, I'm Alan bishop". That was the start of a great friendship with Alan and his wife Shirley.