No cash turnstiles

My first match was seen after I turned up on the day with two folding notes in my pocket. One goal but plenty of excitement and a big desire to come back. If you can not pay in cash on the day then aren't loads of people going to be put off or are only committed fans going to matches these days? Shame if so.

It is a marathon not a sprint...

But hey it is always good to have a headstart not a big gap to the front. We tried and failed. Anyway back to the quest: 92 clubs to visit and still over seventy to go so which next? Given the weather now I am thinking not a good idea to travel a long way. This means the rest of the local clubs first but hey my local club is flying so high can I get in? Wish me luck?

It took all hope away

It was the sort of game that takes some getting over. And there is potentially another one this weekend. I can take a valiant fight and defeat but when you never look in the contest it's galling.

The big one

So Lawro reckons on a one:one draw.  I cantake that but fear worse and don't know what to expect.  Depends who scores first, if anyone.  The tension is always unbearable and rarely is the football great but the result can be fantastic or dreadful.  That's football.

Stevie just cannot score!

By this point last season I reckon Gerrard had already bagged half a dozen goals, including a hat trick. He must have hit the bar that many times this season. Anyway the problems seem to be in defence probably because the increase in emphasis on attacking has removed some of the defence power.
And off the OT next weekend after midweek in France so high hopes for the next league match?

Back to basics

Well please let's get back to league football. And preferably at 3pm on a Saturday. I know I am getting nostalgic.

Predicting no qualification

So England loses in should convincing fashion - so are we back to the drama of qualification for a change? No longer do we have the certainty of knowing, under Sven, that we will get there but then fail to do anything worth shouting about.
Well I am all for excitement but joke football is another matter. Gary Neville breaks his duck with an own goal and Robinsonsays its just a freak occurrence.
Well for me is was cringing. Below is what my program thinks of our chances now.
Prediction on Thu 12 Oct 2006
Footy says ...

Pos.	Team	Pts	plus	(from)	Total	[Max]
1st	Israel	7	+19	(9)	=26	[34]
2nd	Macedonia	7	+18	(8)	=25	[31]
3rd	Croatia	7	+15	(9)	=22	[34]
4th	England	7	+12	(8)	=19	[31]
5th	Russia	5	+13	(9)	=18	[32]
6th	Estonia	0	+2	(9)	=2	[27]
7th	Andorra	0	+2	(8)	=2	[24]

Another international break

Will the football league season ever get going? Teams play 2 or 3 games and then there is an international break. For those in European competition more traveling. Ah, well it's football I suppose but my team just can't seem to get into any kind of run. Gone are the days of

"the same team as last season"

- Shankly I think said that.

This jinx thing with the Valiant!

I fail to turn up for a match and they win. I closely watch a match and they lose. Anyway I will report back when I eventually get to the ground.

Illness postpones Vale trip

Now aiming for next Vale home match. I needed to rest and even the moderate trip to Vale Park wasn't worth worsening my hope. Moreover they won! Maybe because I didn't turn up!

Looking forward to seeing the Vale fans

I am much looking forward to seeing the female Vale fans if this photo from the catalog is anything to go off.

I may be a Valiant jinx

Just watched the Vale throw away a home win! Please can they play better when I am at the ground? I have avoided watching my own team on TV because of a fear that I was jinxing the result. In short football fans will do anything to win even if it means not watching the football!

League Leaders no more!

Fine, already my plan to visit the League 1 Leaders falls foul.  Okay, so it is just that The Vale have slipped to second.  Must firm up travel plans...

We are off and stumbling

One game played, one point gained and two lost? Anyway more on the road to ninety two. First target match this season is down to the mighty Vale Park (see the symmetry here) to watch them take on Blackpool as League leaders (they may have lost this accolade by then of course). Having knocked out the Lillywhites can then get revenge on the Seasiders in the return fixture.
At least it should be warmer than when I visited Bloomfield Road!

wow 3 for 3

Every friendly match the score line gets worse. The only way is up!

Somehow I should have guessed!

Israel for the first European game! Always something to make things interesting. I hear many players that featured in the World Cup have yet to return to their clubs - seems sensible but difficult to see it helping them early on. At the end of the season you may get the same affect, to a lesser degree, as with Ashley Cole - he looked sprightly in the WC unlike most other English players. A high price for Arsenal though! All part of the fun me thinks.

Taking the Michael

When Real Madrid took Michael Owen the only thing that was annoying was the small price tag but given what I am about to say maybe it wasn't!  In his last season on merseyside he was not playing a full season.  So he was great in spells but all too frequently crocked.  There is definite value in having a player, of lesser quality, but who plays most of the season and steadily puts a reasonable number of chances away.  At Newcastle he wasn't ever present and for England, yoah!  A shame for all.  Now Shearer has always had something more physical about his play.  Ah well...

World Cup Withdrawal Symptoms

Why can't we have football on every day. Fifth place play-offs, and so on. Enough to ensure we do not have days with no matches at all. The human condition is such that you get use to a steady supply of world cup football. We crave the next match, not matter what the importance. Togo versus Saudi Arabia is not a match you see outside the tournament in a meaningful way. Friendlies are just are not the same. Come on FIFA take the medical advice and feed our addiction in a way that doesn't stress the body then wean us off slowly by following the final with the women's version or the U20 version, anything to make the withdrawal bearable. Come FIFA play ball!

And his Dad

And his Dad, normally such a sombre refined gentleman, looked even happier and this was before kick-off!
There is always next season.

1-0 to the Robins

Well it was a fun day out, up to a point (when the goal went and the final whistle blew up) and nice to see the stadium. I can imagine that when full it is a very atmospheric ground. We didn't try the catering but outside we had enjoyed a little something. Pity is was mostly empty (29,000 crowd).
Next time it's Wembley!

Dying Swans

A shame for all Swansea fans and Barnsley start the crawl back to the top?
Settled by penalties again. Great fun for the neutral though I have to say I also had the same idea as Rick Parry when it comes to extra time - an extra substitute should be allowed. Too many players suffering cramp again and it didn't mean a goal was scored. How many punters have you heard saying the tired legs will lead to a mistake and so the match will be settled in normal play? Not so the last two matches I've seen taken to extra time.
Anyway Wales is looming!

When did it get so expensive

The cost of going to any decent match is just ridiculous. Forty pounds for a ticket, petrol, toll fares, parking fees and some food and hey you've been robbed of a serious lump. When I started I just walked onto the the Kop for two quid.

Rail looks best unless

The economics always favours going by car.  You need at least 7 days notice to get a cheap rail ticket.

Don't take a car

So the Millennium Stadium has a website and the local council advises not to take a car. The stadium's site hasn't got any travel advice yet but hey its only 7 days away!

Play Off, Play On

Like them or loathe them but they are here again, the Play-off Finals and I'm going to one! Grimsby v Cheltenham Cardiff. Never been to the Millennium stadium so that will be another to tick off.

I can't see why they don't have one of the teams in the play-off being from the league above. Now that would make the relegation battle more interesting. 18^th place in the Premiership means a play-off for survival.

Come on you Haddocks?

If there's one ground...

You never tire of going to the ground that holds the finals, assuming to see your boys do they stuff. Missed again this year. Instead watched the cup final with inlaws, mostly shouting for the other side. Magic match, roll on next season.

Not long left now...

There are only two or three games left now. I am contemplating going to the last Port Vale match. There is something neat about following the away team from the last match. Unfortunately the Vale do not play at home until the 29th so maybe I should fit in a different club. Anyway there is the World Cup to look forward to in a month or so.

Italian football is the greatest?

Did you watch Arsenal bore past the mighty Juventus last night? Well you didn't miss much. Second time I have bothered and the second time I've seen Nedved sent off for silly tackles.

And were Juve pounding Lehman's goal incessantly? No. European football can be great and it can be pants. This was pants. Okay, it was great for the Gooners but the neutral - yawn!
Back to the Premiership please.

Meanwhile on the quest, family life continues to get in the way and there are no firm plans for the next new ground visit ...yet!

Radio entertainment again

Some weekends I just need to catch up on my sleep - the effects of middle age and a young kid to entertain. He isn't old enough to take to a match yet either. I reckon another couple of years. Having spoken to others they agree that four year olds can't cope with the noise or sit still for long enough.
Anyway at this rate it will take ten years to complete my trail but that's fine I'm in no rush. I hope to manage a couple more this season. I want to see league football, not friendly or cup matches so that restricts the diary but it is also the challenge.

Slow progress

Ended up listening to my lot on the radio in the garden. Personal family pressures meant not enough spare time this weekend to gad about watching football. Somehow Match of the Day isn't quite the thrill and buzz of a live game. I have always enjoyed the banter from the crowd, joshing with the opponents; sometimes its original but the familiar can also be worth a second, third, fourth, ... time around! I like a nice atmosphere, a full ground and some entertaining football; plenty goals are always a nice bonus but not necessary. I have seen plenty of nil nil draws that provided more excitement than five nil drummings. After all a good keep display by a keeper is worth seeing, and a comical one but rarely a bad one.

Where next?

Well I would like to be at my team's match on Saturday but not much chance of that so I was thinking of Deepdale instead. Talking to colleagues it seems that Preston North End demand £2 over the pre-match fee for on day sales. And it looks like being a common theme so more judicious planning maybe required.

Seaside misery for Valiants

Not a day for the faint of heart or the weak of clothing, it was bitterly cold, no doubt more so for those travelling up from Stoke. I went by car with son and wife in tow, not literally, not into caravans.
We parked directly outside the ground on the car parks used by tourists visiting the tower etc. The rest of my party walked off to find a tram and visit the Sealife Centre - much enjoyed apparently.
To the football, the Valiant's had the better of the first half but couldn't get a shot on target. Blackpool on the other hand couldn't get a shot at the target full stop.

I had enjoyed a hot beaker of tea (£1.10) before kick off and by the half time break needed further sustenance to survive the cold winds rushing around the ground. Bloomfield Road being a ground with only two full stands, one low open stand for the away fans and some rough ground behind the other goal offers little protection from the seaside weather. I was sat in the west stand which is fairly new and the toilets are decent affairs. The canteen facilities are similarly modern and do the job well.
The second half started better for the home team though the visitors had their moments to spoil the day. As often happens, a couple of substitutions changed the game. After 65 minutes a new recruit made his début, Williams, and duly scored within a minute. Minutes later and the Vale yet again failed to hit the target this time from the penalty spot! Game over and several thousand Seasiders were happy. I reckon there were about 900 of the 5,494 crowd making up the unhappy contingent but at least they were in their cars before 5 o'clock. I waited 20 minutes for the rest of my party to get back to the car before we left for some tea and home. It will be a decent ground when they add the fourth side and replace the temporary stand with something better.

Chester v Torquay POSTPONED!

Okay, not started well. Plans to go to Chester last week fell foul of the weather and our health. Perhaps luckily for us we fell ill first then Chester City called off their match. I had found a few attractions for the family to enjoy too!
New plans are to, maybe, try nearer to home and Blackpool FC at home to Port Vale. We know what to expect and a visit to the Sealife centre is on the cards for the others. It has snowed here today so we will have to watch the weather for any nasty developments. Also I cannot say we are all clear of our colds yet, but how much do you let that sort of thing rule your life?

In the beginning

Yes, I have this desire, don't all football nuts, I aim to visit all 92 English league clubs. To date I have been to 17 grounds to see a match but I have little to prove it. Anyway this blog will be charting my success. I also aim to take my family along with me and enjoy the sights and sounds of the towns as I go just to make it interesting!