Past, Present and Future

 

This was as close as I got to visiting Bootham Crescent, former home of York City FC, and it will have to go down as one of the grounds I wish had been to.

I was pleased to see, when looking at this history of the ground, that, as it is developed for housing, the new street names would commemorate York City heroes, such as Keith Walwyn, while a section of the centre circle and stand will also mark where such memories lie.

It's good to see the Minstermen back in the Football League, on the up and well represented by replica shirts around the city when I had a couple of days there in the summer.

International football, with some stars of the future hopefully on display, comes to the LNER Community Stadium on Monday 12 October as England's U23 Women take on Norway at 7.30pm with tickets priced at £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and £1 for under 16's.

Affordable Archive: Student Days

The road signs here in Sheffield are advising of students arriving in the city this coming weekend, a good time to look back to a couple of earlier articles on a similar theme, from September 2014 and October 2019.

It may be that existing support for a team brings someone to study in a particular town or city or that they discover a second club while they are, perhaps at a lower level of the pyramid but one where tickets are affordable and the atmosphere welcoming, something I remember happening to a friend of mine, a Sky Blues supporter who became a regular at Exeter's St James' Park while studying in that fine city.

Wherever you are off to, enjoy your studies and your football.

Royals Return Home

A positive piece on the excellent Reading FC blog and fansite The Tilehurst End caught the eye this week as it told the story of the return of Reading Women's return to the wider umbrella of RFC after a tumultous couple of years.

Home matches will once again be played at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, beginning with the visit of Fleet Town on Sunday 13 September at 2pm, with tickets priced at £8 for adults and free for under 16's.

Late Summer Days

At Seafield Park, home of Highland League side Strathspey Thistle where the hosts were comfortable 3-0 winners against Huntly on Saturday afternoon.

Admission in Grantown-on-Spey is £12 for adults, £6 for concessions and free for under 16's and the club have worked hard over the years to make progress both on and off the pitch, reflected in some of the ground improvements that have taken place over the summer and an impressive display to claim all three points.

Next home fixtures are on Tuesday 1 September against Inverness Caledonian Thistle (7.30pm kick-off in the North of Scotland Cup) and Wednesday 16th when Rothes are the visitors.

Happy Valley

A club that has appeared consistently on these pages over the lifespan of the blog has been Bradford City and the Bantams continue to regularly run good value ticket offers in addition to their attempts to keep season tickets competitively priced.

Evidence of their success with that are some impressive numbers, reported by the local Telegraph & Argus newspaper, of 16,352 season tickets having been sold ahead of the current League One campaign.

The latest ticket offer is for the League Cup tie at home to Burnley, on Wednesday 26 August, with all advance tickets (for home and away supporters) priced at £5.

In Brief

Building a bridge: Bamber Bridge FC, of the Northern Premier League, have reduced admission prices for the 2025/26 season to £10 for adults and £5 for concessions with season ticket holders from EFL clubs (and there are plenty in and around the Lancashire area) also able to come in for a fiver.

In a push to get more youngsters into the ground, accompanied under 16's will go free.

Moors the merrier: The National League Cup is a competition that has attracted plenty of criticism but it is worth a mention of Solihull Moors free football offer for all four of their home fixtures, starting with the visit of Middlesbrough U21s on Tuesday 18 August at 7pm (tickets to be claimed in advance) with donations welcome to the Solihull Moors Foundation.

Summer Swans: More free football, always handy during the school holidays, this time at Swansea City where the first two under-21 fixtures of the season, against Sheffield United on Monday 17 August (1pm) and Peterborough United (Tue 25th, 12pm) take place at the Swansea.com Stadium with free tickets available. 

FA Cup Weekend Treble

The 2026/27 FA Cup begins with a mammoth 219 extra preliminary round ties taking place over the weekend of Saturday 8 August.

At this early stage of the competition matches take place across three days, often because clubs who ground share have both been drawn, or where cricket still takes preference in the summer months, or occasionally where a Friday night is seen as a better means of getting people through the turnstiles.

That is the case at Sheffield FC as the world's first club, very active on social media at present under the chairmanship of Jon McClure, look to attract Owls and Blades supporters alike. 

They host Parkgate FC at 7.30pm on Friday 7th with advance tickets priced at £8, £5 and free for under 16's. 

The club's home ground is just over the border into Derbyshire with good train connections between Sheffield and Dronfield.

On Saturday afternoon Handsworth FC entertain Prestwich Heys AFC at Olivers Mount, a very smart facility that plays host to players of all ages across the week and accessible via the regular 52 bus from Sheffield city centre (with a short uphill walk once you get off on the main road).

Then on Sunday there is action at Sandygate (take a 51 bus from the city and it will drop you off outside) where Hallam FC welcome Irlam FC.

Staying with the Sheffield theme, the city's Millenium Gallery is still hosting the Football Art Prize exhibition until September (free entry, donations welcome).