Tag Archives: groundhopping

The One-Off

10 Sunday Apr 2016

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Wednesday 30th March 2016 ko 19.30

West Hertfordshire Saturday League- Premier Division

KINGS SPORTS 1 (Gray 67)

CROXLEY COMMUNITY 2 (Martindale 20 McClyment 53)

Att 13 @Dacorum Athletics Track, Jarman Way, Hemel Hempstead

Entry FREE

No Programme

In the great unwritten book of groundhopping tactics the topic of floodlights looms large. The less experienced hopper tends to ignore the fact that the number of floodlit grounds is finite. They then find when they reach around 1,500 grounds ticked they’re rapidly running out of new grounds to visit midweek. But is the converse of that argument also correct? Continue reading →

When All The Pieces Fit

10 Sunday Apr 2016

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Monday 28th March 2016 ko 15.00

Gloucestershire County League

FRAMPTON UNITED 0

THORNBURY TOWN 0

Att 59

Entry & Programme £2

Tea 70p

In football, as in life, sometimes you just need to slow down. After 7 games in two-and-a-bit days in the South West Peninsula League, I’d had great plans of a madcap double. But I awoke looked out of the window and decided to take it easy… Continue reading →

Worthy

28 Monday Mar 2016

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Wednesday 23rd March 2016 ko 19.30

Somerset County League Division One West

GLASTONBURY 0 Rahn sent off 85 (2nd booking)

WELLS CITY RESERVES 1 (Pledger 2)

Att 47

Entry £3

No Programme

On the face of it, there are one or two who would look at a game at the 12th level of English football and assume that it wouldn’t be worth bothering with. A few more might look at the fact that Glastonbury won the Western League 3 times in 1948/9, 1950/1 and 1969/70 and assume that the ground is a throw-back to past glories. Inevitably, the truth is more interesting than the assumption. Continue reading →

A Hundred Good Points Of Husbandry

21 Monday Mar 2016

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Friday 18th March 2016 ko0 19.45

Eastern Counties League-Premier Division

BRANTHAM ATHLETIC 1 (Travis 27)

STANWAY ROVERS 1 (Hunt 64)

Att 100

Entry £7

Programme £1.50

So, another entry in the Eastern Counties League’s regular Friday night fixtures, although on this occasion the impact of playing early was a little diluted by nearby Wivenhoe playing simultaneously. You are only just in Suffolk here, in fact so close to Essex are you, that the Manningtree transmitter is clearly visible from the near goal.  Continue reading →

Bris’

10 Thursday Mar 2016

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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 →

The Age Of The Exile

07 Monday Mar 2016

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Wednesday 2nd March 2016 ko 19.45

East Midlands Counties League

ARNOLD TOWN 4 (Slawson 7 Payne 73 Wood 87 Branston 90)

HOLWELL SPORTS 5 (Joachim 12 58 Stevenson 38p Wells 65 77)

Att 24

Entry £5

Programme £1 (double issue with the previous Saturday’s game)

Teamsheet FREE

Back in 2005 I paid a visit to Arnold Town for a Northern Counties East game at their former home, Gedling Road. I found a vibrant club, right in the centre of their community and seemed to be thriving despite some fairly obvious ground constraints. The club moved to a new ground, Eagle Valley in 2009, after a season in exile but its location was, and to some extent still is the surprising factor in the club’s recent history. Continue reading →

Refuge

07 Sunday Feb 2016

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Friday 5th February 2016 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One

HALSTEAD TOWN 2 (Cook 26 Pavett 55)

WIVENHOE TOWN 3 (Keating 3 Turner 18 Hampson 62)

Att 202

Entry £6

Programme SOLD OUT

Whilst the Eastern Counties League’s attempts at “Groundhopper Days” have not fared well, they’ve had considerable success with Friday evening football. This was the classic example of where it works best, two clubs near Colchester playing a local derby knowing there was another derby the next day, Colchester United travelling to Southend United. I got the distinct impression that plenty at Rosemary Lane had every intention of attending both games. Continue reading →

Jimmy

01 Friday Jan 2016

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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 →

Gas Panic

21 Thursday May 2015

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Sunday 17th May 2015 ko 14.00

Conference Promotion Final

BRISTOL ROVERS 1 (Harrison 30)

GRIMSBY TOWN 1 (John-Lewis 2)

AET Bristol Rovers won 5-3 on penalties

Att 47,0229 at Wembley Stadium

Entry £10 (Member clubs’ allocation- “Neutral Zone”)

Programme £5

Now I know the Conference Premier is pretty much League 3 these days. I know it’s almost entirely full-time and I know there are many former Football League clubs in its ranks. The vital word here is “Former” though, and take it from me, a fan of a club that did lose its place in the League, it hurts a lot it when you get relegated. You get used to the comments like “How on earth did you end up there?” and every time you go to a game you cheer your club on straining every mental sinew to get back to whence you came. There’s nothing wrong with the Conference, but believe me the fans of at least half of the clubs in its top flight hate being there.

Continue reading →

The Blue Aeroplanes

06 Wednesday May 2015

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Saturday 2nd May 2015 ko 15.00

Cheltenham League First Division

FC LAKESIDE 3 (Bowers 55 Griffiths 22 Griffiths 90p)

WHADDON UNITED 3 (Peters 45 Watkins 62 80)

Att 116

At Pitch 4, Dowty Rotal Sports Ground, Down Hatherley Lane, Staverton

Entry FREE

No Programme

A few weeks ago I watched Whaddon United, enjoyed the experience, and paid little or no attention afterwards. I thought their win against Kings AFC would see them lift the Cheltenham League title with ease. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the league table with them only one point clear with one game left, and my plans for Saturday were immediately changed when I saw that game was away against Lakeside, the second placed club! A shoot-out for the championship shouldn’t be missed.

Continue reading →