Pukka Pies for goalposts - a Football League/ National League thread

[monkfromhavana]

Never met him, but from all accounts he was. Even in his late 70s he rang the phone-in and broke down in tears about Coventry moving to Northampton. Still a bit ashamed that the club sacked him when he was on his sick bed so they could appoint....Terry Butcher.

[Wentworth Smith]

FA Cup weekend, the last round before the teams who shall not be mentioned in this thread appear. Any games that have the chance of topping game of the season Stockport/Bolton in the last round?

I'm looking forward to Chesterfield taking on Salford, which is on the tele because of Salford. The last time we played them at their place we outnumbered them. Not sure that will happen this time but should be a decent turnout. Will be nice to not be the bad guys for a change.

[holyzombiejesus]

Never met him, but from all accounts he was. Even in his late 70s he rang the phone-in and broke down in tears about Coventry moving to Northampton. Still a bit ashamed that the club sacked him when he was on his sick bed so they could appoint....Terry Butcher.

Vale did the same (without the sickbed stuff) in getting rid of John Rudge (after 16 years and nearly 900 games, for having the temerity of not improving on the previous season's 8th in the Championship) and appointing Brian fucking Horton and his freaky scary eyes. Will always be grateful that our current owners got Rudgie back to Vale Park. I don't want to be one of those people that waxes lyrical over the past and makes out that people like JR and Sillet are somehow special and 'proper' but it's very tempting.

[holyzombiejesus]

FA Cup weekend, the last round before the teams who shall not be mentioned in this thread appear. Any games that have the chance of topping game of the season Stockport/Bolton in the last round?

I'm looking forward to Chesterfield taking on Salford, which is on the tele because of Salford. The last time we played them at their place we outnumbered them. Not sure that will happen this time but should be a decent turnout. Will be nice to not be the bad guys for a change.

I hope you fucking batter them. Never liked Chesterfield since they beat us about 10 years ago and one of their fans rang Radio Stoke's Praise and Grumble post-match phone in, pretending to be a Vale fan and then jeered at us. All that after I congratulated one of their fans in a public toilet after the semi against Middlesbrough. Tsk. Still hope you win though.

[Wentworth Smith]

I hope you fucking batter them. Never liked Chesterfield since they beat us about 10 years ago and one of their fans rang Radio Stoke's Praise and Grumble post-match phone in, pretending to be a Vale fan and then jeered at us. All that after I congratulated one of their fans in a public toilet after the semi against Middlesbrough. Tsk. Still hope you win though.

If it makes you feel better I once went to a match at Vale Park on a Tuesday night in the Johnstons Paint (or whatever it was called at the time) and we were 4 down after twenty minutes and the away fans had to do a conga line to amuse ourselves. Long journey back (by car, not conga).

[The Lurker]

Gateshead v Charlton on ITV4 soon if anyone's interested. Should be a good game, looking forward to it. I'm travelling to Lincoln tomorrow for Hartlepool's second round clash, looking forward to that one too. New ground ticked off the list for me.

[Kankurette]

I had a mental history teacher from Stoke who was a Vale fan.

Since Wednesday are out of the FA Cup, I'm rooting for Cambridge out of the smaller teams - they were my parents' local team before they moved, so I've been to a few matches. Unfortunately the fuckers never won so I never got to hear the coconut song.

[jobotic]

I like Chesterfield since going there twenty years ago to game that was called off due to a frozen pitch about fifteen minutes before kick off. We were in the supporters club and a few Chesterfield fans were outraged on our behalf - they came all the way from fucking Kent - and bought as a couple of rounds.

Also went to the rearranged fixture on a Tuesday night and it was one of the dullest goalless draws I ever went to.

[holyzombiejesus]

New ground ticked off the list for me.

Nice result for you.

How many current prem/ football league grounds have people been to? I think I've seen 64 out of the 92 league clubs (saw lots of Premier games at Man City's ground as they used to give free tickets out to the children's home I worked at) and have been to 33 of the grounds.

[Ted-Maul]

It was only during lockdown that i was bored enough to create a spreadsheet compiling my football escapades which i managed to piece together from stubs, programs and memories.

I went to my first game in 1995 and in the 26 years since, i've managed to visit a whopping 6 league grounds. Six! and that's if i'm allowed to include White Hart Lane. Supporting a Prem side who always sell out their away allocation makes it quite difficult to get involved in the travelling side of things.

Lockdown was a big wake-up call in this respect. I'd already dipped my toe into non-league a little and enjoyed it so i vowed if we were ever allowed out of the house again i'd start attending more games, with an emphasis on going to new places. Since lockdown ended i've been to 12 non-league grounds and about 20 local grounds below the non-league pyramid.

As for seeing clubs play, i've seen 32 current league clubs plus original Wimbledon and Yeovil who were a league club at the time.

[Wentworth Smith]

Nice result for you.

How many current prem/ football league grounds have people been to? I think I've seen 64 out of the 92 league clubs (saw lots of Premier games at Man City's ground as they used to give free tickets out to the children's home I worked at) and have been to 33 of the grounds.

A lowly 35 current league grounds with another 5 that no longer exist (only one for which I've been to the current and old ground, Derby. Went to the Baseball Ground with a school or youth club trip and some wags in our party amused themselves by pouring drinks on the level below leading to much gesturing and previously unheard words from the unhappy drink recipients).

The other no longer existing grounds are Doncaster (open air, awful weather, got drenched, won one nil), Wigan (last season of it's existence, total dump with the terracing crumbling beneath your feet in handy throwing size lumps), Leicester (decent old school ground), and Brentford (famously had a pub at four corners of which I have been in two and they were both shit).

[Kankurette]

Not many. Goodison Park, Old Trafford, Hillsborough, Bumhole Bramall Lane, County Ground, the Abbey Stadium, Glanford Park, the Etihad and Boundary Park. I wish my City fan uncle had taken me to Maine Road before they left.

Having a chronic illness makes travelling for football awkward. I always feel drained when I get back from Sheffield because of how long it takes to get to and from Hillsborough, and Scunny was a full day.

[Herbert Ashe]

Huh, 78 & 12 grounds. Guess that's what happens when you've seen your club in all four divisions. Biggest club I've not seen is Sunderland, somehow B&HA have not been in the same league as them since 2004/5. For some reason I was surprised I've never see Shrewsbury but turns out not been in the same league since 2001.

Glad this thread is here, I've also got the lower/non league football itch again thanks to the last couple of years. Also I've found the (PL) match-going experience quite dispiriting this season for a few reasons - really terrible mask-wearing levels at games down here on trains and under the stands, the usual kick-offs being fucked around with for TV, yada yada.

[Kankurette]

How far is Gillingham from Brighton? Didn't you have to groundshare with them at one point?

[jobotic]

35 league grounds, although some of those are now non-league.

Only two non-league

[The Lurker]

38/92 which is lower than I thought but I have done fair few teams that are no longer in the league like yer Grimsbys, yer Chesterfields and yer Dagenhams to name a few, along with Brentford's and Rotherham's old grounds.

[Darwinfodup]

Spam

[JarrowMonkey]

Nice result for you.

How many current prem/ football league grounds have people been to? I think I've seen 64 out of the 92 league clubs (saw lots of Premier games at Man City's ground as they used to give free tickets out to the children's home I worked at) and have been to 33 of the grounds.

Been to about 28 of the current Prem to Divsion 3 following Hartlepool in the league, 8 outside of the 28 just mentioned in various League and FA Cup ties, including Arsenal away two years in a row, 5 who are in the conference now, 7 who are in new grounds and 3 who went bust and the play off final against Wednesday in 2005

I've also seen England draw against Sweden at Elland Road, The Euro 96 Semi at Old Trafford and handful of England friendlies at the old an new Wembley, Pre season friendlies in Holland and Norway and about 6 as a 'neutral' with non 'Pools fans

Have been to about three matches since we went down and came back up, this after following us since 1988

[JarrowMonkey]

Been to about 28 of the current Prem to Divsion 3 following Hartlepool in the league, 8 outside of the 28 just mentioned in various League and FA Cup ties, including Arsenal away two years in a row, 5 who are in the conference now, 7 who are in new grounds and 3 who went bust and the play off final against Wednesday in 2005

I've also seen England draw against Sweden at Elland Road, The Euro 96 Semi at Old Trafford and handful of England friendlies at the old an new Wembley, Pre season friendlies in Holland and Norway and about 6 as a 'neutral' with non 'Pools fans

Have been to about three matches since we went down and came back up, this after following us since 1988

Missed Scarborough off that list, some cracking days out there, one of them was old warhorse Mick Taits first game in charge in December 1996, after taking over from Tory Boy Keef Houchen

We were two down I seem to remember, but won 2-4, when the fourth went, the 'Boro keeper kicked his water bottle away in anger, it landed at the feet of a kid about three rows in front, he asked his dad what he should do with it, I helpfully suggested taking a piss in it, he nipped off to the bogs and I imagine he did the dirty deed, came back and threw the bottle back, a short while later, the keeper took a swig, spat it out in disgust, looked back at the crowd who were laughing and jeering, and to be certain, he took another swig

Father forgive me, etc etc

[Wayman C. McCreery]

I've done 102 grounds, but only 11 of the current 92 - Accrington, Barrow, Cheltenham, Harrogate, Lincoln, Man City, Man United, Norwich, Oldham, Preston and Sheffield United. The first five of them were from when they were non-league grounds. I've seen rugby league at a few more, but I only count them if I've seen a football match there.

www.footballgroundmap.com is the best place to track your visits. It goes down to a ridiculously low level and it includes closed grounds and venues for reserves and women's teams.

[monkfromhavana]

Perhaps Crabwalk can tell us why Paul Cook has been sacked. He seemed to be doing an "OK" job - nothing spectacular but OK. Maybe Ipswich are like Cov and just need to be relegated to a level where they will win games a bit easier to get a bit of wind in the sails.

That's what I'm putting on my application to fill his vacancy anyway.

[Inspector Norse]

Counted that I've only been to ten current league grounds, plus four former stadiums (Man City, Huddersfield, Rotherham, Chesterfield) and one that was a league ground when I went but isn't any more (Halifax).

I can say with some certainty that I've seen 35 current league teams play, a handful of former league teams (including Notts County when they were in the top division!), and possibly some others where the game was so dull or miserable an experience I've forgotten it.

[holyzombiejesus]

I've done 102 grounds, but only 11 of the current 92 - Accrington, Barrow, Cheltenham, Harrogate, Lincoln, Man City, Man United, Norwich, Oldham, Preston and Sheffield United. The first five of them were from when they were non-league grounds. I've seen rugby league at a few more, but I only count them if I've seen a football match there.

www.footballgroundmap.com is the best place to track your visits. It goes down to a ridiculously low level and it includes closed grounds and venues for reserves and women's teams.

You've got me thinking of which non-league grounds I've been to now. Most were for Vale pre-season friendlies or when I used to go and see Stalybridge Celtic. I think it's 17 but can't remember if I went to Northwich Victoria twice or if one was at Witton Albion.

[jobotic]

Did you all remember to put your team's home ground in your number? I nearly forgot.

What's the furthest journey? I did Carlisle v Gillingham twice although it's a bit of a cheat as stayed at friend's who lived in Carlisle at the time. Burnley away on a Tuesday night was probably the most knackering there and back one I've done.

Hartlepool (or Carlisle) fans can probably beat that.

[Kankurette]

Cambridge for me. 4 hours on the train.

You have to feel for Yeovil fans playing any northern team though.

ETA: Chesterfield's celebration against Salford was pretty gruesome, but funny. Scholes is a menace.

[Inspector Norse]

Never done a big away trip for some reason, the only exception being the old Wembley when we got to the FA Cup semi in '94 and Mark Hughes broke my 9-year-old heart in the 121st minute. All the other away grounds I've been to have been in Lancashire and Yorkshire (and "Greater Manchester"). I think it's because with two siblings and a mum who didn't tend to go, my dad wasn't really able to book up whole days at the weekends just to go watch shite like Torquay v Oldham, and I myself have lived abroad pretty much my whole adult life so only ever get to Boxing Day games these days and they're always fairly local affairs.

Even neutral grounds in the UK, the only one I've been to is St James' Park.

I have watched games at five league grounds in Sweden plus one in France, and done the Camp Nou guided tour.

[jobotic]

Joe Pasquale not guilty

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/06/joey-barton-found-not-guilty-of-assaulting-former-barnsley-manager

[Inspector Norse]

Sean Penn plays Ron Mael in new Sparks biopic

[finnquark]

What's the furthest journey?

Eastbourne away (lost 5-0).

[Herbert Ashe]

How far is Gillingham from Brighton? Didn't you have to groundshare with them at one point?

Yeah, a couple of seasons at the end of the 90s. I think it's about the same distance at Southampton but with shittier transport links. The 'rational' options (Palace/Portsmouth) weren't likely to happen but Millwall or Charlton made far more sense for supporters, but never happened for reasons I can't remember.

I have watched games at five league grounds in Sweden plus one in France, and done the Camp Nou guided tour.

What's the experience at games like in Sweden? I don't feel like I've ever seen much about Scandinavian football from the european fooball groundhopper types apart from photos of those grounds carved out of tiny islands in the faeros. I walked past IFK Goteborg's ground once, but that was in winter so no game in the offing.