Author Archives: laurencereade

The Percy Point

11 Monday Jan 2021

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Saturday 24th January 2009 ko 11.00

Northern Alliance First Division

PERCY MAIN AMATEURS 2 (Betts 46 McEnaney 72)

GOSFORTH BOHEMIANS GARNETT 2 (Atkin 22 73)

Att 61

Entry £1

Programme 50p

If a small football club’s management is reading this and wants a one-off financial boost they could do worse than read this- with the one caveat being don’t try this if your club will be on an organised hop in the near future. Because even after 11 years after the event the adage still holds true- kick off at a weird time and do programme and you will attract groundhoppers. Continue reading →

The Bible Club

04 Monday Jan 2021

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Saturday 24th January 2009 ko 15.00

Scottish League Division One

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2 (Dobbie 10 Tosh 56p)

PARTICK THISTLE 2 (Doolan 17 Chaplain 77)

Att 2,811

Entry £15

Programme £2

Iain and I go back a mighty long way, back to the late 1990’s working for a high street bank with a CEO without a “Shred” of dignity, I met him once!. We didn’t meet in the most auspicious of ways, a 2 week business banking course at a golfing hotel just outside of Tewkesbury. I don’t play golf, and Iain couldn’t take his clubs on the plane down from Dumfries each week. We were bored, the hotel isolated, with an expensive bar, and the fruit machine was seeming set against us. We passed (somehow) despite another delegate having his room completely emptied by a burgler (save for a pair of underpants) on the final night, but we kept in contact.

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2020, the year

31 Thursday Dec 2020

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Whoever you are 2020 was undoubtedly the year of Covid. This time last year we didn’t know what furlough meant, and thought Brexit would be the biggest challenge we’d face.

But I can’t write off the year completely. After all it contained unquestionably the greatest day of my life, January 11th- my wedding day, and seeing Robyn walking down the aisle in that beautiful dress was breathtaking. It was wonderful to have so many of our family and friends there to share it with us. Special thanks to my best man Sim who went over and above the call of duty to make our day so special.

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The Secret Santa

29 Tuesday Dec 2020

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Saturday 19th December 2020 ko 15.00

Hellenic League Division One East

LONG CRENDON 1 (Warwick 54)

WALLINGFORD TOWN 2 (Dean 43 Silkstone 85)

Att 36 at Oxford City FC

Entry £5

No Programme

You could say I was at this game because of Santa Claus! As you may know I’m part of a pub quiz team based at the Masons Arms in Oxford. Each Christmas we have a meal out at a local gastro-pub and exchange gifts in a “Secret Santa” arrangement. Covid of course had meant that meal out was impossible, but we decided to do the Secret Santa gift exchange, and I offered to play Santa for the afternoon and do the collections and deliveries from the doorsteps of our homes. The idea was afterwards to go and watch either of two Oxfordshire Senior League games. The first was Bicester-based Bure Park with Oxford Irish (based at Rose Hill Community Centre) as back-up. Both were 2pm kickoffs. 

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Portmanteau

27 Sunday Dec 2020

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Monday 14th December 2020 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One South

FRENFORD 2 (Forbes 4 Fairhead 88)

Heatley penalty saved 52

ATHLETIC NEWHAM 2 (Idemudia 9 Kone 90p)

Kone sent off 90 (2nd booking)

Att 87

Entry £4

Programme £1

Monday night football will always attract the groundhoppers, and a club new to Step 6 will do so still further. Here though there was the added thought of exactly which league I was watching. In 2018 the Eastern Senior was created as a Step 6 league to feed the Essex Senior as a joint venture between that league and the Eastern Counties. It seemed to me that the league became rapidly swallowed up by the Eastern Counties League, and has become their Division One South. Now I’m not that worried by the nomenclature, but does anyone have a definitive answer? Continue reading →

Returning Heroes

18 Friday Dec 2020

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Saturday 12th December 2020 ko 15.00

Southern Combination Premier Division

PEACEHAVEN & TELSCOMBE 2 (Benson 50 Webber 78)

STEYNING TOWN COMMUNITY 1 (Cousins 10)

Att 153

Entry £7

Programme online only

Lockdown #2 ended up lasting a couple of weeks longer than either Robyn or I planned, and the irony of both of us contracting Coronavirus during a lockdown isn’t lost on me. We were fortunate, very fortunate to contract only a mild strain of the disease and although we were pretty wiped out for a few days we quickly recovered, with fatigue being the last symptom to fade away. But that fact did influence where we went. I wanted to break up the driving a little, I wasn’t comfortable with the marathon stints I’ve taken on in the past. That brought an idea from the past into my head…. Continue reading →

Hindsight

11 Friday Dec 2020

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Friday 6th January 2006 ko 19.30

Welsh League Division One

BRIDGEND TOWN 0

BARRY TOWN 1 (Reddy)

Att c100

Entry £3

Programme 50p

My abiding memory of this game was arriving at Coychurch Road far too early, around 6pm as I didn’t know what time this game was to kick-off at. I knew nothing back then of course Coychurch Road had staged Southern League football, and Bridgend’s stint in English football had only ended in 1983, when the club had opted back into Welsh football.

The night’s visitors had been one of the “Irate Eight” who on the formation of the League of Wales in 1992 had wanted to remain in the English game. They’d played one season as Barri AFC playing out of Worcester City before returning to the Welsh game a season later. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t know what time kick-off time was either…

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The Other Abbot

07 Monday Dec 2020

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Friday 27th October 2006 ko 19.30

Devon Premier Cup – 3rd Round

NEWTON ABBOT AFC 2 (Friend 4 Vicary 6)

Ford sent off (violent conduct) 68

TAMARSIDE 1 (Knight 76)

Att c100

Entry £2

Programme 50p

I’m sure you all know about Newton Abbot’s football club, perhaps you ticked off Newton Abbot Spurs on the 2018 South West Peninsula Hop? But there was another team in the Devon Town, playing games at the Devon FA Ground in Coach Road. I was fortunate enough to watch them play, but it was only due to a benevolent piece of influence, from Sweden of all places! Continue reading →

The Alternative Groundshare

04 Friday Dec 2020

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Thursday 16th November 2006 ko 19.45

London Senior Cup 2nd Round

WELLING UNITED 1 (Cunha 13)

TOOTING & MITCHAM UNITED 2 ( Gibbs 55 Green 68)

Att c150

Entry & Teamsheet £6

On the face of it there are no end of clubs in groundshares; you really don’t need me to give examples! Suffice it to say the rule amongst groundhoppers is to tick off the ground for either the landlords, or of there isn’t one, then the primary tenant. But in a hobby that attracts those who like their rules to be both hard and fast there are a few exceptions! Continue reading →

The Cold Wind

29 Sunday Nov 2020

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Saturday 22nd March 2008 ko 10.30

Central Midlands League – Premier Division

NEWARK FLOWSERVE 1 (Sharpe 20)

BOLSOVER TOWN 1 (Robb 50)

Humphries sent off 44 (violent conduct)

Att 260

Entry £2

Programme £1

Sometimes organised groundhops get remembered for certain characteristics. One Welsh Hop got remembered as the “Dog Shag” hop after two dogs misunderstood the excitement on the pitch at Carnetown, and the 2018 South West Peninsula Hop was the “Wet Hop” as organiser Phil Hiscox had to switch one game on to Exwick Villa’s 3G to get the game played. But without question the 2008 Easter Hop in the Central Midlands League was the cold hop! Continue reading →