Curzon snapper Oli rediscovers his love for football

Curzon Ashton photographer Oli Biddle says the club has reignited his love for football.

The 33-year-old, who is originally from Presteigne in mid-Wales, grew up watching Hereford United and landed something of a dream position as the Bulls’ photographer.

However, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare as the club fell into financial difficulty and was subsequently demoted from the National League into the Southern League Premier Division – the seventh tier of English football.

Boycotts followed and the club was eventually wound up in the High Court in December 2014 after a petition had been brought against it by HM Revenue and Customs.

A phoenix club, Hereford FC, was formed on December 22, 2014, and has since enjoyed a memorable five years, with three successive promotions taking them into the National League North – a position they currently hold to date.

Despite the success story, Oli has found it hard to engage with the new club and he has since struggled to reconnect with the Bulls.

But after moving to Manchester and approaching Curzon to become their match-day photographer, his passion for football has returned and the Nash are now his new love interest.

Speaking to Reporter Sport, Oli, who stumbled into photography by chance after being given and old Fujifilm camera, said: “The town I'm originally from had no big local football sides to watch.

“The closest and biggest at the time was Hereford United, so when moving to Manchester nearly five years ago I was already pretty familiar with lower and non-league football. 

“One of the first things I photographed was a team GB Team football game in the Millennium Stadium for the 2012 Olympics, although it was just as a fan in the stands.

“Football photography has been a bit of a journey, starting with a little team in Mid-Wales – Presteigne, a Europa League qualifier, Newtown vs. Copenhagen, and even the European Blind Football Championships in 2015

“Before moving to Manchester, I spent some time as the Hereford United photographer. It was the period between their expulsion from the National League down into the Southern Premier League. The previous photographer left the club due to the ongoing issues and I asked the club if I could help as I saw it as a great opportunity to improve my photography and I still thought the games should be photographed and documented. Ultimately, I felt I didn’t have anything to lose as it meant I got to photograph my boyhood club.

“Being around the club at that time was interesting, as there were lots of rumours every week, with very young players being sold a dream to play for a big club in Hereford United at quite a low level. Even I would get abuse online for giving the club a platform with my pictures. The club was a bit of a mess on and off the pitch, then finally at around Christmas 2014, bang, the club was wound up in the high court. At that time I fell out of love with my boyhood club and honestly football a little bit. Curzon has helped me reignite that love and, to be honest, it’s a connection I thought I would never find again.”

Oli, who also supports Tottenham Hotspur, has enjoyed his time at the Tameside Stadium and believes the club’s community focused approach has played a massive part in his enjoyment.

And while he primarily focuses on first team matters, Oli also takes an interest in other areas of the club, capturing the women’s team fixture against Warrington Wolverines and the Under 18s FA Youth Cup tie against Burnley.

But his highlight arrived at the end of last season when the Nash claimed silverware in the Manchester Premier Cup, beating Mossley 3-1 at Ewen Fields.

Oli says photography was initially a relaxing hobby, but as his love for Curzon continued to grow his stress levels are rising. “Obviously, it’s always nice when a supporter says, “great pictures last week” but for me it’s the relaxation I get from taking pictures” he said.

“I just find it easy to switch off from everything else and focus on photography, although It’s becoming harder each week now I’m becoming more and more of a fan.

“It can be hard to watch some weeks when you see the effort the players and management team put in, knowing that some of the clubs Curzon play against are full time and earning more money, but I know my images capture their effort and desire and it's those games where the wins mean so much more.”

Oli managed to fulfil an aim he never knew he had earlier this season, when his dad travelled north to watch Hereford play Curzon at the Tameside Stadium. The experience proved to be an emotional one and one he won’t forget in a hurry. “It brought back lots of memories for me of when he used to take me to watch Hereford games, but this time I was taking him to “my club” said Oli.

“My dad was there to watch the game, but also watching me do something I love.”

Whilst enjoying his time at Curzon and learning his craft at the same time, Oli has ambitions to move up the pyramid and would love a chance to capture a Premier League fixture.

But he says the effort and equipment to reach that level, plus the work involved, potentially means it will never happen.

For now, Oli would ‘snap’ your hand off to capture something more realistic; a Curzon promotion party. He said: “I’m a realist but seeing Curzon get promoted and capture that action would be pretty awesome. No one ever thought Leicester would win the league so you never know, although the after-party pictures from that might be a bit of a mess and probably wouldn’t be much use in the paper.”

You can follow Oli on Twitter @Biddleofnowhere

Main picture by Will Cheshire https://www.facebook.com/cheshphotos/