10 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in B
Tuesday 8th March 2016 ko 19.45
Western League Premier Division
BRISLINGTON 0
MELKSHAM TOWN 3 (Hughes 3og Higdon 45 Stradling 71)
Att 42
Entry £5
Programme £1
Even this far in to my groundhopping odyssey there are still grounds that leap out from my “Football Traveller” directories. It’s almost as if Ironmould Lane, was shouting out, “Why on earth haven’t you visited yet?” Continue reading
21 Sunday Feb 2016
Posted in B
Tags
3G, Bridgwater, Charity, College, Cup, Morganians, Rowbarton, Saturday, Taunton League, Westonzoyland
Wednesday February 2016 ko 20.00
Taunton & District Saturday League, Rowbarton Charity Knock Out Cup Quarter Final
WESTONZOYLAND 1 (J Millard 42p)
MORGANIANS 2 (White 35 Barnard 54)
Att 36 at Bridgewater Academy 3G
Entry FREE
No Programme
There are plenty of groundhoppers out there who wouldn’t be interested in a game like this. Some would say the level is too low, the Taunton League feeds the Somerset League which in turn feeds the Western League at Step 6. Others would hate the idea of a plastic pitch in a cage in a school’s grounds, but needless to say I take a slightly contrary view. Continue reading
05 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in B
Tags
Bilborough Pelican, Brian Wakefield Memorial Ground, Bulwell, Central Midlands League, Collingham, Nottingham, South Division
Wednesday 27th January 2016 ko 19.45
Central Midlands League South Division
BULWELL 3 (Fisher 36 61 Towle 72) Wheelhouse sent off 57 (violent conduct)
COLLINGHAM 3 (Price 49 J Wapplington 51 M Wapplington 87)
Att 31 at Brian Wakefield Sports Ground, Lenton Lane, Nottingham
Entry £3
Programme £1
I used to think the acid test of the serious hopper was completion of the Lenton Lane triptych of Bilborough Pelican, Dunkirk and Greenwood Meadows, with the hotel owned by Su Pollard to drive past along the way. Dead easy if you did the Central Midlands League hop back in the day that clocked up these and two more in a day, in testing weather, but as the years have passed the challenge has become more difficult. Continue reading
24 Sunday Jan 2016
Posted in B
Tags
Albion, Ashton Gate], Bristol City, FA Cup, Max O'Leary, Replay, Rickie Lambert, Rondon, Steve Cotterill, Tony Pulis, wes Burns, West Bromwich
Tuesday 19th January 2016 ko 19.45
FA Cup Third Round Replay
BRISTOL CITY 0
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 (Rondon 52)
Att 15,185
Entry £10
Programme £2.50
The wonderful thing about having a football-loving girlfriend is that you get to immerse yourself in her club, and enjoy the common factors between your two clubs. Robyn is a Bristol City season ticket holder and knows the game and her club inside out so there were many reasons to pay Ashton Gate another visit. Continue reading
11 Monday Jan 2016
Posted in B
Tuesday 5th January 2016 ko 19.45
Isthmian League Division One North
BRIGHTLINGSEA REGENT 4 (Read 20 27 Kelly 43 Malton 56)
WALTHAM ABBEY 1 (Daveney 79)
Att 107
Entry £8
Programme £1
I do enjoy my visits to this part of the world. Whether its Felixstowe & Walton on the Suffolk side, or the likes of Clacton and Harwich & Parkeston on the Essex side, and the latter is an absolute must-visit by the way, there’s a vibrancy about the clubs even if sometimes their circumstances are less than ideal. Brightlingsea proved to be a case in point. Continue reading
01 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in B
Saturday 28th December 2015 ko 19.45
Isthmian League Division One
BARKINGSIDE 0
HARINGEY BOROUGH 1 (Kamara 57)
Att 114 at Cricklefields Stadium, Seven Kings (Ilford FC)
Entry & Programme £9
Just under two years ago I paid a visit to Oakside Park and was both pleasantly surprised and saddened in equal measure. The ground is the kind of hotch potch that groundhoppers love, and Barkingside’s chairman Jimmy Flanagan was heroically keeping the club going almost single-handed, whilst welcoming just about everyone through the turnstile. The sadness was that they were unable to pay the rent increase on the ground, so were about to vacate the ground they’d built. I was sufficiently taken by both Jimmy and Barkingside to want to catch up with them. Continue reading
01 Sunday Nov 2015
Posted in B
Wednesday October 28th 2015 ko 19.45 (but actually kicked off at 20.15)
Essex Senior League
BASILDON UNITED 4 (Hunter 5 9 Nyanja 54 Clark 69) Sartain sent off 60 (2nd booking)
TOWER HAMLETS 0
Official attendance 84
Entry £6
Programme SOLD OUT
Groundtastic editor Vince Taylor summed up Basildon neatly.
“Other New Towns such as Crawley and Stevenage have produced Football League teams, why not Basildon?”
He has a point, and you can add Milton Keynes to that list albeit by rather nefarious means, but why is a town of 100,000 residents only supporting a club at the 9th tier of English football? Continue reading
12 Monday Oct 2015
Saturday 10th October 2015
Bedfordshire County League Hop
10.30 Bedfordshire County League Premier Division
SHARNBROOK 4 (King 17 Mulvihill 48 52 Strange 69)
PAVENHAM 4 (Payne 6 11 Harding 47 Netherway 59)
Att 125
13.45 Bedfordshire County League Premier Division
RENHOLD UNITED 2 (Reed 3 Allison 6)
SANDY 0
Att 119
16.30 Bedfordshire County League Premier Division
FLITWICK TOWN 3 (Banfield 5 Doriatito 17 Lewis 82)
EASTCOTTS 0
Att 151
Free entry to all games
Programmes £2 each
Badges £3 each
When I see the Bedfordshire officials to some extent I see my own reflection. I’ve got so engrained in the world of the North Berkshire League it’s got to the point where I can look at a side in the Bedfordshire League and understand them, the two leagues are that similar in how they operate. Continue reading
24 Thursday Sep 2015
Tags
Anglian Combination, Beccles Town, Bungay, Bungay Town, College Meadow, Joe Clarke, Manchester United, Premier League, Shaun Cole
Wednesday 23rd September 2015 ko 19.30
Anglian Combination Division One
BECCLES TOWN 2 (Joe Clarke 60 62)
BUNGAY TOWN 1 (Whiteman 7)
Att c200
Entry & Programme £2
If you’re on Twitter and like football then I suspect you follow Shaun Cole and Bungay Town. Yes, even you at the back, the Manchester United fan that’s never actually been to Old Trafford, because Shaun sells his club like no other. They are the team that once offered everyone 5p to attend a game then the next year offered free mushrooms to patrons. Because just because your club exists 12 promotions from the Premier League doesn’t mean you can’t tell the world that you’re alive and kicking, and it does give you the freedom to do it with wit and charm. Continue reading
25 Tuesday Aug 2015
Posted in B
Tags
1938 tube stock, Brading Town, hovercraft, Island Line, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight League, Jubliee Cup, Northwood St Johns, Ryde, Vicarage Lane, wessex league
Saturday 22nd August 2015 ko 14.30
Isle of Wight Jubilee Cup
BRADING TOWN 3 (Collins 7 Hichcox 28 Hatcher 45) Vale missed penalty 45)
NORTHWOOD ST JOHNS 0
Att 34
Entry £1
No Programme
The further I delve into every football ground everywhere, the endless choice every Saturday doesn’t get any less bewildering nearly 1,700 grounds in. Writing these articles helps, as it steers you towards places that cry out to have their story told, but in the end Brading Town became a classic piece of completionism. Continue reading
Football: Wherever it may be 