24 Monday Aug 2015
Posted in F
Thursday 20th August 2015 ko 18.30
Pre-Season Friendly
FORDINGBRIDGE TURKS 2 (Tong 83 86)
BURLEY 0
Att 18
Entry FREE
No Programme
As a general policy I’ll be attempting this season to visit more of the clubs that follow me on Twitter. Now I’m well aware that will set me up for a few monster drives, with perhaps the Cornishmen of Carharrack being the furthest, but the policy does have one advantage, and this game was the perfect example of it. Continue reading
24 Monday Aug 2015
Tags
Ardley United, hellenic league, New Gerard Buxton Ground, Norman Stacey, Royal, Rylands Way, Steve Howkins, Town, Wootton Bassett
Wednesday 19th August 2015 ko 19.45
Hellenic League Premier Division
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT TOWN 2 (Packer 32 Bailey 89)
ARDLEY UNITED 1 (Howkins 40p)
Att 92
Entry £6
Programme £1.50
This season has seen Wootton Bassett return home after a two-year exile at Cirencester Town. They’ve moved into a purpose-built facility on the Malmesbury Road, with their old ground at Rylands way now gradually disappearing under a close of houses. Continue reading
23 Sunday Aug 2015
Posted in A
Monday 17th August 2015 ko 19.30
Combined Counties League Division One
ABBEY RANGERS 2 (Macklin 68 Hartlebury 81)
STAINES LAMMMAS 1 (Nunn 52)
Att 157
Entry & Programme £5
I’m beginning to think despite many aggravating factors we’re beginning to see a renaissance in southern-based non-league clubs. I’m well used to having to travel north to visit an iconic ground at Step 5 or below, then visiting grounds at a similar level locally and seeing little more than a barrier. Continue reading
23 Sunday Aug 2015
Posted in N
Tags
FA Cup, Football, Joe Fagan, Lancashire Combination, Little Wembley, Nelson, Newton Aycliffe, North West Counties League, Seedhill, Victoria Park
Saturday 15th August 2015 ko 15.00
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
NELSON 0
NEWTON AYCLIFFE 4 (Knight 29 Banks 59 Moffat 81 86)
Att 96
Entry £6
Programme £2
Badge £3
If there’s one competition every football fan should be a fan of it’s the FA Cup. Despite top flight clubs attempts to devalue it, for me the memories of clubs you’d never heard of battling against familiar Football League clubs remain a romantic part of growing up a football fan. Be it Blyth Spartans, Shepshed Charterhouse or Sutton United, the FA Cup was and is where the thrill of the underdog giving the patrician a bloody nose was more interesting than watching the same old sides fight for the League title. With those thoughts in mind I wanted something special to visit for the competition’s opening round. Continue reading
23 Sunday Aug 2015
Posted in H
Tags
Chinese pagoda, Essex Senior League, FA Cup, Hoddesdon, Hoddesdon Town, Lowfield, Mark Summers, Sawbridgeworth Town, Spartan South Midlands League, Stewart Edwards Stadium
Friday 14th August 2015 ko 19.45
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
HODDESDON TOWN 4 (Summers 38 43 67 Wade 90)
SAWBRIDGEWORTH TOWN 0
Att 216
Entry £6
Programme £1
In groundhoppers’ circles football grounds and clubs get known for certain characteristics. For example there’s the stand at Treharris, the Chinese pagoda at the Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, but Hoddesdon Town gets talked about in hushed tones for one reason, the programme. Continue reading
21 Friday Aug 2015
Posted in B
Tags
Bush Hill, Bush Hill Rangers, Hampshire Premier League, Mansel Park, Southampton, Southampton docks, Stockbridge
Wednesday 12th August 2015 ko 18.45
Hampshire Premier League Senior Division
BUSH HILL RANGERS 4 (Smith 2 84 Jewell 20 Harding 74)
STOCKBRIDGE 1 (S Hamilton 65)
Att 47
Entry FREE
No Programme
Maybe my eye for grounds is getting either jaundiced or rose-tinted, I’m not sure which. Because when I posted a photo of the ground in Southampton on social media, the fans of Brutalist stadium architecture grabbed at it. And even now, a week or more later I’m still a little mystified. Continue reading
21 Friday Aug 2015
Posted in A
Tags
AIK, DIF, Djurgarden, Djurgårdens, Solna, Stockholm, Stockholm Derby, Sweden, Tvillingderbyt
Monday 10th August 2015 ko 19.07
Allsvenskan
A.I.K. 1 (Bangura 54) Sundberg sent off 32 (DOGSO)
DJURGÅRDEN 0 Arvidsson sent off 74 (2nd booking)
Att 39,387
Entry- Complimentary
Programme 20sek
Picture the scene; I’m pottering around on a Sunday morning, and a message pops up on my mobile phone. “Would I like a free ticket to the Stockholm derby in 2 weeks’ time?” The answer of course was yes, but there was the not unsubstantial issue of how I was going to get there, and at what cost? Continue reading
18 Tuesday Aug 2015
Posted in M
Wednesday 5th August 2015 ko 18.30
West Dean Charity League, Intermediate Group 3
MILKWALL 1 (40)
YORKLEY 10 (2 21 26 37 54 57 68 75 76 79)
Att 21
Entry FREE
No Programme
Sometimes I think that in the long term I’ll become something of a research groundhopper, and therefore this blog will end up being to publicise those little footballing gems that so far have evaded attention. And dear reader if that means I get to visit, photograph and write about places like Milkwall’s Edenwall Road, then that’s fine by me! Continue reading
16 Sunday Aug 2015
Tags
Baffins, Baffins Milton Rovers, Hampshire Premier League, Langstone Harbour Ground, Liphook United
Tuesday 4th August 2015 ko 18.45
Hampshire Premier League- Senior Division
BAFFINS MILTON ROVERS 3 (Gardner 42 76 Prew 89)
LIPHOOK UNITED 0
Att 27
Entry FREE
No Programme
Hopper mentality being what it is, the tendency is for the hobby to descend on any club that moves grounds as soon as possible. Its an odd one when you think about it, its far more important to dive for those grounds that are about to disappear isn’t it?
16 Sunday Aug 2015
Posted in K
Tags
Chris Berezai, GroundhopUK, Kings Cliffe United, Peterborough & District League, Rutland Weekend Groundhopping, Sean Kelly, Stamford Lions
Sunday 2nd August 2015 ko 17.00
Peterborough & District League Division One
KINGS CLIFFE UNITED 0
STAMFORD LIONS 1 (Kelly 84)
Att 296
Entry £4
Programme £1
Badge £3
So all too soon we reached the final game of Rutland Weekend Groundhopping, and a trip to “Kings Cliffe Active” a name that seemed to me to wholly give the wrong impression of what the ground would be like. Was I the only one who thought it would be at the back of leisure centre? Beds Hop organiser Craig Dabbs strolled over to the coach with a grin on his face, and laughed, “You’re going to love this!”
Football: Wherever it may be 