Upcoming Premier League 2 Fixtures

The new season of matches in Premier League 2 has given supporters an opportunity to see games at the Emirates Stadium and Anfield, among others, usually for less than a fiver and at family-friendly times.

 

Unscientifically, over the years I have been writing the blog, it seems that more clubs are making more of an effort to make something of these fixtures. The likes of Norwich City and Reading have always been good at promoting them and Derby County are very active as well but even the bigger clubs are now making it easier to find about when the games are taking place and how much it will cost to attend them.

 

Even if fixtures are not played at a club’s main stadium, playing at an accessible venue, with a decent kick-off time, is a positive. Manchester United, for example, are regulars at Leigh Sports Village with entry to the matches being free of charge.

 

On Monday 23 October, United Under 23's take on Liverpool at the stadium, kick-off 7pm.

 

The official Premier League website provides a starting point for finding a game to go to but the official club websites are the best place to go to for specific details and to keep up with any changes.

 

Scheduled for the next month or so are matches at the London Stadium (West Ham versus Manchester United on Sunday 15 October), the Emirates (Arsenal against Sunderland the following evening) and the King Power (Leicester take on Swansea on Monday 23 October).

Swindon Supermarine FC

Supermarine have featured on these pages before with their innovative efforts to keep admission prices low.

This season, for instance, thanks to a sponsorship deal with Imagine Cruising, prices have been reduced to £6 Adults, £4 Concessions and free for Under 11's and supporters enjoying those prices will also be pleased with an unbeaten start to the campaign in both the league and the FA Cup where Gosport Borough, of one division higher, were beaten last Saturday to earn a home tie against Paulton Rovers on 30 September.

Before that, this coming Saturday, for the visit of Didcot Town in the Southern League, West Division, it will be free entry to the Webbswood Stadium to celebrate the 50th birthday of chairman Jez Webb.

West Didsbury & Chorlton

A warm welcome as always at Brookburn Road for Saturday's game between West Didsbury & Chorlton and Runcorn Town, the visitors making it eight wins out of eight at the top of the North West Counties League with a 4-2 victory.

Next up for West, at home, is the FA Vase tie with Stockport Town this coming Saturday. Admission to this very friendly club is £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and free for Under 12's.

Newmarket Town, Chesham United (Non-League Day)

The nicknames of some clubs are easy to have a guess at, a horseracing theme at Newmarket Town always likely to be a firm favourite.

The Jockeys host their annual Youth Day to coincide with this season's Non-League Day when Histon are the visitors  to the Ridgeons Stadium on Saturday 7 October in the Eastern Counties League.

Admission is just £2 for Adults and free for Under 16's when purchased via the club website (usual adult prices will apply on the gate).

Entry to the game between Chesham United against Royston Town in the Southern League Premier Division on Non-League Day is on a 'Pay What You Want' basis with the club also distributing hundreds of free tickets to Under 18's in the local area via schools, youth and sports clubs.

Chairman Brian McCarthy told the club website: "We are delighted to be able to participate in the celebrations of Non-League Day by encouraging more and more of the local community along to the club to see what goes on at a football match in Chesham, enjoying the unique atmosphere of non-league football and hopefully be impressed with the facilities we enjoy at The Meadow."

Links

The following sites have been invaluable to me in writing this blog and are well worth a visit.

The London Football Guide - James Doe is the man behind Non-League Day and set up TLFG to provide a comprehensive guide to football (at all levels) in the capital and its suburbs. On a weekly basis he runs through all of the fixtures of note and is also happy to answer queries from anyone coming to London and looking to catch a match.

With its focus on a similar patch geographically, The Cold End combines news and match previews with reports, highlights and some great photographs of Non-League football in London, Hertfordshire & Beyond.

If there is anything you need to know about football in Oxfordshire then the Oxon Football blog covers everything from Oxford United downwards while Football in Bracknell is an excellent not for profit site that doesn't leave a stone unturned when reporting on football at all levels in the Berkshire town.

Women’s football features regularly on these pages and the excellent She Kicks website has features, stats and regular fixture updates covering all levels of the game in the UK with Scottish Women's Football performing a similar function in its area.

The official FA WSL site also has an easy-to-navigate fixture list with ticket info and links.

Non-League Matters is a good resource for fixtures, tables and stats from all levels of the game below the Football League and the Forum part of the site has a section where special ticket offers, free and reduced admission and ‘Pay What You Want’ fixtures can be publicised.

The Northern Counties East Football League is my local Step 5 league and the home of Hallam FC who have featured regularly on the site. The NCEFL website is an excellent resource for results and fixtures while many of the clubs in the league feature on the Non League Yorkshire website which has a wealth of news, match reports and opinion from across the county.

North of the border, Scottish Football Fixtures does exactly what it says in the title with day-by-day fixtures from all levels of the Scottish game and regular Twitter updates.

FA Cup Second Qualifying Round

The road to Wembley continues with the entry into the competition of teams from the National League North and South this weekend and fixtures up and down the country.

I was at Handsworth Parramore for an FA Cup tie last season when they knocked out Stocksbridge Park Steels and the club, proudly from Sheffield but based in Worksop at present, are gearing up for possibly the biggest game in their history on Saturday.

FC United of Manchester are the visitors and, commendably, admission prices are untouched from a normal match day which means £5 for Adults and £3 for Concessions.

I asked the club on Twitter about the expected crowd and they will be delighted with 600+ so hopefully this article will add one or two more on to that figure.

Wembley For £10 Next Week

A quick line on Tottenham's League Cup tie against either Barnsley or Derby County on Tuesday 19th September (as I'm writing the Tykes and the Rams are playing their delayed Second Round tie) for which Spurs are looking to attract a healthy crowd.

While it feels very strange to be talking about a trip to Wembley in September, fair play to Spurs for reducing prices to £10 Adults and £5 for Under 18's and Over 65's.