The price of a tank

29 Friday Nov 2013

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Wednesday 27th November 2013 ko 19.45

East Midlands Counties League Cup 2nd Round

GREENWOOD MEADOWS 2 (Spencer 45 91)

BORROWASH VICTORIA 3 (Thompson 90 105 Finlay 100p)

Att 31

Entry & Programme £5

Tea 70p

Pie & Chips £1.50 (what no peas?)

If I kept detailed records of where I’ve visited, Nottingham’s Lenton Lane would loom large. Its not the prettiest place in the world, a narrow road a sharp left from the Clifton flyover, with a hotel owned by former Hi-de-hi actress Su Pollard at one end, but to the groundhopper you find yourself returning time after time. Continue reading →

It’s All About You

29 Friday Nov 2013

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Tuesday 24th November 2013 ko 19.45

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 0

NEWPORT COUNTY 0

Att 5,042 (437 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (including Oxford Mail)

Every football fan should have a small corner for Newport County AFC. Not so much for the Newport County, who sank out of the Football League in 1988, and were bankrupt with debts of £330,000 less than a season later, but for the trials and tribulations that befell the reformed club, Newport AFC, that started life in June 1989.

From the outset the aim was always to regain their Football League status, but the new club found a major obstacles in their path.  They played one season in the Gloucestershire village of Moreton-in-Marsh http://wp.me/p1PehW-qP, due to a dispute over the old club’s unpaid rent at Somerton Park before returning to their old ground. Continue reading →

Shelled

24 Sunday Nov 2013

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Saturday 23rd November 2013 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 3 (Constable 15 Rigg 24 Williams 31)

MORECAMBE 0

Att 4,871 (92 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc Oxford Mail)

For the first time this season you could feel the chill wind at Grenoble Road. Obviously the weather was the major quotient, but a sparse crowd, and poor home form were factors. In fact, with a growing injury list too it was easy to forget that Oxford United were and are top of League 2. Nothing I saw from 3pm onwards made me think that statistic was likely to change. Continue reading →

Looking After Number One

20 Wednesday Nov 2013

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Saturday 16th November 2013 ko 17.30

Conference Premier

BARNET 2 (Villa 38 Weston 45)

CAMBRIDGE UNITED 2 (Appiah 29 32)

Att 2,853 (Ground Record)

Entry £21

Programme £3

Tea £1.50

Pie £3

I like Barnet, I always did, right the way back in the early 90’s when, as a student I used to catch the Northern Line to its terminus at High Barnet, then counter-intuitively walk down to Underhill.

The place reminded me of my club Oxford United’s spiritual home, The Manor, with the sloping pitch, and the hotpotch of stands and bits of terrace. It was magical, but unsuitable for the rigours of League football so a move was inevitable, however painful. I paid my my farewells last season, but the move has not been without controversy, Continue reading →

Memo From Turner

18 Monday Nov 2013

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Saturday 16th November 2013 ko 13.30

Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy 2nd Round

BELSTONE 3 (D Turner 64 90 N Turner 87)

BUSHEY SPORTS CLUB 2 (Shorto 14 Roche 33) Archer sent off (serious foul play) 36)

Att 60

Entry FREE

Programme £1

Just occasionally televised football does improve attendances! With Barnet FC at their new ground, The Hive for this season, and the game kicking off late at 5.30pm for television, any club local to North London was likely to see an influx of groundhoppers. We were indebted to well-respected hopper Stephen Jackson who liaised with the club so they were prepared for the larger-than-normal attendance. I hope the club had a decent pay-out for their efforts.

The main issue was actually working out where Belstone actually is! Continue reading →

Five Stops From Home

17 Sunday Nov 2013

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Sunday 10th November 2013

NB-I

FERENCVÁROS 0

SZOMBATHELYI HALADÁS 3 (Halmosi 9 64 Ugra 22)

Att 6,756

Entry 2,700 HUF (approximately £7.58)

Programme FREE

It was abundantly clear on our first full day, the Friday that Fradi are the biggest club in Hungary by some distance. We’d researched the ticketing situation before flying out and discovered that to buy a ticket you need to have a fancard first. That’s easy enough to do, either apply via the club’s website or fill out a form at the club offices at the Stadion Albert Florian, at Népliget station. Its free and you simply pick up the card when you arrive.

So Andy and I presented ourselves at Ferencváros’ offices before heading out to Honvéd and our cards would have been ready but for one small problem- my photo. I’d uploaded the only current picture I had of myself, taken at the “Big Pit,” and apparently wearing a miner’s helmet is not allowed. Continue reading →

The Sunday Scene

17 Sunday Nov 2013

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Sunday 10th November 2013 ko 11.00

BLSZ (Budapest League) II Osztály

KŐBÁNYAI IFUSAGI SE 10 (Nagy 23 44 70 Galántai 34 Helmes 37 52 64 78 Lovász 68 Zeis 89)

ÚJUBDA KFT II 0

Att 33

Entry FREE

No Programme

It has to be said that an 11am kick-off on a Sunday is positively gentle! After the metro ride to Népliget and number 1 tram to MTK, Andy and I headed south-east on the number 37 tram to district 10, or Kőbánya.

Kőbánya, or Quarry if literally translated, started its existence as a centre for limestone mining and many of the beautiful buildings to be seen in the capital are built from materials extracted here. Later the area became known for its claypits, the clay being good for bricks, and later still for winemaking. During the Communist era brewing started up in Kőbánya and the Kőbányai Világos, a light beer became extremely popular throughout Hungary. Continue reading →

The Secret Policeman’s Ball

15 Friday Nov 2013

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Saturday 9th November 2013 ko 20.00

NB-I

MTK BUDAPEST 1 (Kanta 82)

BUDAPEST HONVÉD 1 (Hidi 85)

Att 2,000

Entry 2000 HUF (approximately £5.60)

No Programme

Team Sheet FREE

Scarf 1500 HUF  (approximately £4.20)

From Vasas it didn’t take long for Andy and I to retrace our steps back to
Stadion Hidegkuti Nándor, home of Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre, or MTK Budapest.

We’d called in earlier, before the Elóre game and called in at the main office to try and buy tickets. We were met by a man who spoke absolutely no English but more than made up for it with a magnificent Magyar moustache! He gave us a magical guided tour of the ground, including a sight of the new statue of Nándor Hidegkuti to be unveiled before the evening’s game. Continue reading →

The Iron

14 Thursday Nov 2013

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Saturday 9th November 2013 ko 16.00

NB-II

VASAS BUDAPEST 1 (Gál 26)

SZIGENTSZENTMIKLÓS 1 (Takács 51)

Att 800

Entry 2000 HUF (approx. £5.62)

No Programme

Team Sheet FREE

From Elóre it was simple enough to get to the Stadion Rudolf Illovszky, just take the “1” tram still further away from Népliget passing the Puskás Ferenc Stadion before taking the “14” tram a few stops north-east in Budapest’s 13th district. If you’re travelling here by Metro the nearest stop is Forgach on the M3 line.

The club dates from 1911 and was set up by members of the Hungarian Union of Iron Workers,  as the Vas-és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja, the “Sport Club of Iron and Steel Workers.” Continue reading →

The Trams

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

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Saturday 9th November 2013 ko 12.00

U21 II Osztály Közép A

BKV ELÓRE 2 (Bajusz 9 Peinlich 16)

SZOLNOKI MÁV UTÁNPÓTLÁS 4 (Baté 12 Zskakái 45 69 Tóth 84)

Att 89

It seems that if you like football, and you’re in Budapest, the place to be is Népliget station. Apart from being the station for Ferencváros’ Stadion Albert Florian, currently being rebuilt, it also is handy for the “1” tram route which runs east to west along the Hungária körgyűrű  (Hungary Boulevard) and has the stadia for MTK, Elóre, and the National Puskás Ferenc Stadion, along its 13 km length.

Elóre’s Sport utcai stadion, or Sports Street Stadium is adjacent to MTK’s, with just the street, Sport utcai separating the two.

Continue reading →