Hatters Worldwide Series 2- 6 Paul Gregg ( Spain )

 

 

 

 

 

It`s 4 years since we heard from Paul Gregg in Spain , Paul( Dudley Hatter on County Heaven )is always a good read ,so it was a great pleasure to be contacted by him again with an update of his position that is crammed with  news and positivity.

Here`s a link to Paul`s earlier contribution in series 1-

 

https://hedgegrower.blogspot.com/2020/12/hatters-worldwide-4-paul-gregg-spain.html

 

 

Paul`s latest account of life in sunny Spain follows below…..

 

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Here is my update from El Palo

 

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been four years since I talked about my life here in Malaga. Have things changed? Of course they have.

 

I no longer live with the fantastic view of the cathedral. Instead, I’ve moved a different barrio (neighbourhood), I wonder if you can guess which one? Yes of course, El Palo.

 

Thanks to the wonders of modern Internet dating and a place called Tinder. I met a Spanish lady called Pilar.

Pilar is not a local, she’s from Madrid, and as we started talking, she explained she lived in a part of Malaga and wasn’t sure if I knew it… yeah, she was 200 metres away from El Palo‘s ground.

 

Needless to say I moved in to Pilar`s rented flat, and then within six months we bought our own place. This time literally across the street from the Nuevo San Ignacio but obviously not facing the ground as the facilities are used all weekend and every night in the week.

 I love the club but not that much!

 

 

But what of supporting El Palo?

Like all clubs, following them is a rollercoaster.

Having started watching them on my own, similar to how I watched County as a young lad, I began to meet a colleague before and after the game for a drink as they lived in El Palo. Eventually they said why don’t I just come inside and drink with you whilst we are watching the game?

 

And so it began!

 

Through talking to colleagues and friends a little group began to grow from just me on my own first, then 2 then 3, then five and now the El Palo Ingles group some games is into double figures!  

 

 

 

During the 2022/2023 season we decided to make ourselves a little more visible via the medium of a 2 m 40 wide by 1 m 50 high England flag with our clubs` logos and the El Palo logo. This proudly flies, home and away (even when there are only two away fans - see photo).

 

 

 

 

 I also set up an instagram account `el_palo_ingles `and post results, musings on the games and our selection for man of the match. Players, managers and even the club president follow and interact with posts!  

 

During this season, El Palo reached the play-offs. The play-offs themselves lasted six weeks and finally, over 1000 km north of where we live, with two of our group in support, we won promotion. I was watching the game live from Madrid just 2 weeks before my wedding!

 

 

For me, 2023/2024 was a little reminiscent of County’s seasons in the second tier of English football. There were four teams with bigger season ticket sales than the capacity of our ground. We really were in with the big boys (Sevilla B, Betis B and Cadiz B teams were obviously good teams and not those with the sizeable season ticket sales) and despite a long valiant fight, relegation was confirmed one game before the end of the season. 

 It has to be said, that in that division of 17 teams five got automatically relegated and the sixth from bottom had to do a playoff to try and survive. Unfortunately, we did not get anywhere near enough goals however that’s football! At the other end of the table one automatic promotion spot and four playoff spots, the way that it works across the five regional divisions is that all four could get promoted and three of them did. The standard in the division was indeed very high. So, we leave with our heads held high.

 

 

 

Obviously still proudly following County and promoting the name of the club continues!  The play-off defeat last year came just before my wedding so it was our first play-off final in Wembley that I did not make it to. Having watched El Palo win the first leg of their play-off final I then went home and screamed the flat down, sadly to no avail. This year my neighbours were confused once more. Their mild-mannered English neighbour spent several evenings screaming with delight as County managed their glorious promotion. Hopefully this season my wife and I will be able to watch a County game at Edgeley Park together and she can see what she’s really married…

 

Pilar doesn’t actually like football.

 She came to one El Palo game and we lost in the promotion season, the only one we lost at home.  Yes, she’s banned!

 

Up the Hatters, and I’m still in Danny Bergara’s Blue n White army.

 

Paul

 

 

 

Massive thanks Paul for this his second contribution to the series -another belter that I hope tempts other County supporters living outside the UK to tell us their story too!

We would love to hear from you , and we will tell your story to the world!

Meanwhile best wishes to Pilar and Paul and the El Palo club for the future- keep us posted !

 

hedgegrower