Impressions

21 Friday Aug 2015

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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 →

The Most Expensive Comp’ Ever!

21 Friday Aug 2015

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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 →

The typo that isn’t

18 Tuesday Aug 2015

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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 →

Men At Work

16 Sunday Aug 2015

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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?

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Skydiver

16 Sunday Aug 2015

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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!”

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Blueprint

16 Sunday Aug 2015

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Sunday 2nd August 2015 ko 14.00

Peterborough & District League Division One

OUNDLE TOWN 3 (Hipwell 3p C Murphy 45 Kaye 77)

BASTON 4 (C Murphy 31og Pick 49 Waters 58 90p)

Att 321

Entry £4

Programme £1

Badge £3

For me the grounds I visit that give me the most satisfaction are the ones that surprise me. There is a tendency amongst the less experienced groundhoppers to treat everything below Step 6 as “Fields” with little other than the game to excite. The truth is that without research you genuinely don’t know what you’ll find. It could be no more than a pitch, or it could be a gem, the trick is to put your prejudices in your back pocket and find out. Continue reading →

Class

16 Sunday Aug 2015

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Sunday 2nd August 2015 ko 10.45

United Counties League Division One

THRAPSTON TOWN 4 (Whiteman 19 Morgan 27 Parkin 34 Hope 46)

ST NEOTS SAINTS 1 (Ageymang 87) Osei-Addo missed penalty 49

Att 257

Entry £5

Programme £1

Badge £3

Here’s a thought. If I was the chairman of a club about to host a game on a hop organised by GroundhopUK, the slot I’d want is the first game on the Sunday. That is of course at variance with just about every club official I’ve spoken to when we first ask their club to host! There is always resistance to moving fixtures, it’s why for example we were turned down for a hop by the Highland League recently, but when you look at the the various time slots, there are some fairly startling conclusions to be found. Continue reading →

Anticipation

09 Sunday Aug 2015

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Saturday 1st August 2015 ko 19.45

United Counties League Division One

OAKHAM UNITED 5 (Jenkins 40 Nelson 58 McDonald 65 Leckie 88 Lambie 90)

BUCKINGHAM TOWN 2 (Weymoth 2 Delderfield 77) Weymouth sent off (2nd booking) 82

Att 341

Entry £5

Programme £1

Sometimes when you put a hop together a club just leaps out of the page at you. It’s usually a club with personality, the type that doesn’t just wait for the circus to reach their town, they demand it arrives. I remember Berinsfield doing that on the very first North Berkshire Hop, and Oakham did more or less the same thing last year whilst winning in front of a huge crowd at Coates Athletic.

That was down in no small part to the force of nature that is manager Wayne Oldaker, and its personalities like him that have seen a small club in Rutland move from Catmose College (now used by Rutland DR) to Barleythorpe College, improve the place to United Counties League standards, and win last season’s Peterborough & District League. Whilst it was always Chris Berezai and I’s intention for the hop to visit Oakham United, Wayne in the nicest possible way made sure we had little or no say in the matter! Continue reading →

The Good Queen

09 Sunday Aug 2015

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Saturday 1st August 2015 ko 16.30

Peterborough & District League- Division One

STAMFORD BELVEDERE 1 (Saddington 42p)

WITTERING 3 (Middleton 17 McRoyal 23 Watson 76)

Att 314

Entry £4

Programme £1

Badge £3

So, on to game 3 of the day, and the slot that proved to be the most problematic to fill. The original idea was to visit Uppingham Town, they turned us down so we then turned to Oakham’s Rutland Dead Rabbits FC, but due to a small committee and an unhelpful landlord we had find another host club. That was a real shame, we loved the name, it was another Rutland-based club and those of you who saw their badge on sale by Terry’s Badges, the club crest was a corker! But Dead Rabbits’ loss was Stamford Belvedere’s gain, and they made the most of their opportunity. Continue reading →

Terms of Endearment

08 Saturday Aug 2015

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Saturday 1st August 2015 ko 13.45

United Counties League Division One

BLACKSTONES 1 (Evans 64p)

RUSHDEN & HIGHAM UNITED 1 (Cormack 30)

Att 327

Entry £5

Programme £1

Badge £3

So back to the UCL for our second game of the day, and over the border to Lincolnshire and the historic market town of Stamford. Blackstones take their name from their background as the works team of the Mirlees Blackstones engineering firm (more here) but I did wonder what the crowd would be like here. Continue reading →