Cirencester Town FC

The largest town in the Cotswolds, Cirencester's links to the Romans are reflected in its football club as the 'Centurions' play their matches at the Corinium Stadium.

Formed in 1889, Ciren are currently in their third successive season back in the Southern League Premier Division and gained a first away victory of the new campaign at Basingstoke Town on Tuesday evening.

A new manager has been appointed since then, experienced player Charlie Griffin moving into his first touchline role and being tasked with maintaining Step 3 football.

One of his first matches in charge will be the home league game against Dunstable Town on Tuesday 25th October where there will be free admission for all spectators but anyone attending is asked to dig deep for Macmillan Cancer with bucket collections around the ground.

@AffordableFooty thanks for sharing.We did it last year & raised over £1k for Macmillan & want to raise even more this year with a big crowd

— Cirencester Town FC (@CirenTownFC) 28 September 2016

Free Football At Eastleigh FC

Saturday’s 2-1 victory for Eastleigh FC against Sutton United at the Silverlake Stadium was watched by an attendance of 2,853, the numbers swelled by the offer of free admission to students as they head back to university in the Southampton area.

 

Having put their faith in Ronnie Moore just a few games into the current campaign, Eastleigh look to be reaping the benefit of the veteran manager’s experience as they are now eight matches unbeaten and settled nicely among the early-season promotion candidates.

 

Progression into the Football League would be the culmination of a steady, upward curve for the Spitfires, who are offering free admission to the home fixture against Maidstone United on Tuesday 4th October.

 

I’ve added that to the ‘Coming Up’ tab at the top of the page which highlights upcoming offers and matches that may be of interest.

League One: Limbo Land?

I've been meaning to write a piece on League One for a while and was prompted to do so by an interesting piece on the Football Supporters' Federation website recently about away ticket prices in the division.

What do you think of the state of League One away prices? Most hovering around low-£20s, match categorisation only used at 10 clubs... pic.twitter.com/wvsHtmiQCQ

— The FSF (@The_FSF) September 21, 2016

It showed that prices have crept up, in certain cases, to £30 which is of course the same as the capped-prices for visiting supporters in the the Premeir League while paying more £20 or more is the rule rather than the exception.

I don't particularly want to single out individual clubs (the blog has always been about highlighting interesting offers when they come up) but I do feel that, on both the playing and financial side, League One is gradually becoming more and more detached from the Championship despite the link between the two division that promotion and relegation provides.

The most obvious example of this is Championship Under-23 sides taking part in the ill-judged Football League Trophy this season but it's also there in other ways. Channel 5, for instance, has changed its Saturday night offering from 'The Football League Show' to 'The Championship' with League One and Two goals shunted away to a separate programme.

Despite this, clubs are still faced with rising costs from the standard obligations they have to meet and the knock-on effect of wages that are inflated in the top-flight and going the same way in the second tier.

I'd love all clubs to be offering tickets for £20 or less but the best way of ensuring that is surely for a greater sense of togetherness amongst 'The Football League' as a whole and a fairer way of redistributing income to all of the members.

It is pleasing that the 'EFL' have come out and confirmed recently that 'B' teams and the Old Firm are not part of the proposed expansion plans but a growing divide between the Championship and the rest could yet lead to a form of regionalisation or a 'Premier League 2' in the coming years.

Two International Tournaments For October

England’s Under-20 squad are set to compete at the FIFA World Cup in May/June 2017 and preparations will take a step up in October when the FA hosts a mini-tournament across Greater Manchester (with one excursion into Yorkshire).

Aidy Boothroyd’s side will play the Netherlands on Wednesday 5th, kick-off 7pm at Oldham Athletic’s Boundary Park home before matches against Germany on Friday 7th at Huddersfield Town and the USA on Monday 10th at Spotland in Rochdale (both kick-offs also 7pm).

Tickets for the England games (the other fixtures are being played behind closed doors in Leigh and Altrincham) are priced at £3 Adults and £1.50 Concessions and are available via each of the hosting clubs.

England Under-21’s have a Euro qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday 11th October at 5:45pm. Tickets for the match, at the Banks’s Stadium home of Walsall FC, are priced at £10 Adults and £5 Concessions.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, will host the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championships in August 2017 and a warm-up event has been scheduled for this October, featuring the hosts, England, France and the USA in an Under-19 tournament.

Games take place between the 18th and 23rd and will be played in Ballymena, Portadown, Lurgan and at Windsor Park in Belfast and tickets for each are priced at £5 Adults and £3 for Under-16’s.

And at senior international level, England's Women take on France in a friendly at the Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster as the build-up begins to Euro 2017.

The match is scheduled for Friday 21 October at 8pm with tickets priced at £7.50 Adults, £3.50 Concessions and £15 for a family. Discounts are available for Doncaster Rovers and Doncaster Rovers Belles season ticket holders.

Ayr United FC

After securing promotion to the Scottish Championship after a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out against Stranraer in May, Ayr United have made a solid start to life at the higher level, capped by Saturday's excellent victory at title favourites Hibernian.

On Saturday 1 October, The Honest Men (nicknames are something that Scottish clubs do much better than their English counterparts) host Dunfermline Athletic at Somerset Park in a 3pm kick-off.

Admission prices for the game have been reduced to £5 for all as chairman Lachlan Cameron marks the passing of his father, and former chairman, Donald recently.

Donald Grant, a family friend of the Camerons, will also mark the passing of his wife and together the Grants and the Camerons will be donating £10 to Alzheimers Scotland for every season ticket holder at the match and will make up the difference in ticket revenue to the club.

Positive Vibes As Reading Host Huddersfield Town

Another Saturday, another great occasion at the John Smith's Stadium as over 20,000 watched Huddersfield Town stay on top of the Championship with a 2-1 victory against Queens Park Rangers, a fourth successive home win for the Terriers in the league this season.

Chairman Dean Hoyle, having seen the progress that was made under head coach David Wagner last season, backed his belief in the relatively unknown (in this country) German by announcing in the summer that increased revenues from television money would be used to subsidise season ticket prices.

Adult tickets, priced at £179, flew out of the door and the scene was set for a season of good crowds at the John Smith's whatever happened on the pitch.

Results to date have been better than anyone could have expected and the whole thing looks to be taking on a life its own, success attracting more through the turnstiles and the Huddersfield players reveling in the atmosphere it is creating.

“We had unbelievable support which helped us play as strongly as we did and take the next step,” said Wagner after the QPR game.

An away trip to Reading is up next and if you are a Huddersfield Town season card holder then the cost of your ticket at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon is £20 for an adult with various reductions for different age groups.

That comes after the Royals took the decision in the summer to cap away prices and implement the 'twenty's plenty' initiative for supporters of away teams who are season ticket holders. These prices are matched for home supporters, with a £2 membership card, in the Eamon Dolan Stand.

The variation of away prices in the Championship has become a topic for discussion in the wake of the £30 cap introduced in the Premier League as it means a number of clubs now charge more than that for matches in the second-tier.

Next Saturday, for example, it is £36 for an adult ticket when Nottingham Forest head to Sheffield Wednesday and £35 for Ipswich fans off to Leeds United.

So, hats off to the Royals for their move. They have always been a club who have featured heavily on our pages with free admission to Under 21/23 games at the Madejski (such as the clash with Chelsea on Monday night, September 19th at 7:05pm) and with reduced prices for home cup ties at the stadium.

Champions League Update

An update to the recent post about the UEFA Women's Champions League and two good chances to watch big matches under the lights in Edinburgh and London.

Hibs Ladies take on Bayern Munich in the last 32 of the competition and their home leg will take place at Easter Road, home of Hibs, on Wednesday 5 October at 7:30pm.

Tickets are priced at £7 Adults and £3 Concessions.

Stamford Bridge will host Chelsea Ladies as they attempt to gain revenge on last season's conquerors Wolfsburg. The home leg will be played on Wednesday 5 October at 7pm with tickets priced at £5 Adults and £3 for Juniors (Under-20) and Seniors (Over-65).

I've added a 'Coming Up' tab to the top of the page which I will update regularly with matches that may be of interest and dates for the diary.

Football for a Fiver at Charlton Athletic

‘Football for a Fiver’ is an offer that has been running at the Valley since 2011 and it returns for the 2016/17 season when Charlton Athletic host Rochdale in League One on Saturday 1 October at 3pm.

I touched on the deal in an article last season but that came at a time when the main backdrop to matches at the stadium were the protests against owner Roland Duchatelet and chief executive Katrien Meire‘s running of the club.

A recent article in The Guardian gives an account of the current situation, Russell Slade’s appointment as manager being seen as a necessary first step towards restoring some stability and identity to the playing side although it may take longer (and for some supporters, a change of ownership) for divisions off the field to be healed.

As the Guardian piece touches on, such divisions seem more pronounced at a club where supporters played such a huge part in saving and then re-building it and where initiatives such as the Valley Express travel service have reached out to the whole community of those people with links to the Addicks.

My own club, Coventry City, in contrast, continues to suffer from a total lack of trust between fans and owners but there is no golden age of good relations to look back on, unless you followed the club through the glorious 1960’s when Jimmy Hill’s team and the city as a whole seemed interlinked.

I've added a 'Coming Up' tab to the top of the page which I will update regularly with matches that may be of interest and dates for the diary.

October’s Affordable Football

A first look ahead to what is coming up next month...

It is a busy time in the Women’s game as the FA WSL season approaches its finale and there is also the Champions League and Continental Cup Final to look forward to.

In the Champions League, Glasgow City have been drawn against Eskilstuna United of Sweden with the Scottish champions at home in the second leg. This will take place at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie on Thursday 13th October at 7:45pm with tickets priced at £10 Adults and £5 U16's.

I haven’t seen ticket details yet for Hibs Ladies against Bayern Munich or Chelsea versus Wolfsburg but the home legs of these ties will be played at Easter Road and Stamford Bridge respectively.

Manchester City are making their debut in the competition and are likely to be heading into their tie against Zvezda Perm of Russia as the new WSL champions. City have been drawn at home in the first leg which will take place at their Academy Stadium on Thursday 6 October at 7pm.

The Academy Stadium will also host the Continental Cup final between City and Birmingham City Ladies on Sunday 2 October at 2pm. Tickets are priced at £7 Adults, £3 Concessions

Manchester United Under-23’s are in action twice at Leigh Sports Village in October, against Liverpool on Tuesday 18th and Arsenal on Monday 24th, both at 7pm. Admission to all United matches at LSV is free of charge, simply register your details on the website.

'Football for a Fiver' is back at Charlton Athletic for 2016/17 and this season's fixture is the home match against Rochdale on Saturday 1 October. £1 of the £5 ticket cost will go to the Charlton Athletic Community Trust.

I've added a 'Coming Up' tab to the top of the page which I will update regularly with matches that may be of interest and dates for the diary.

FC United of Manchester

Taken at Saturday's game between FC United of Manchester and AFC Fylde in the National League North, an exciting match which ended 3-2 to the visitors and one of the favourites for promotion to the top tier of Non-League football this season.

Broadhurst Park stands as a vibrant monument to the achievements of all connected with FC since their inception in 2005.

Admission costs remain pegged at £9 Adults, £5 Concessions and £2 Under-18's with the next home fixture for the first team (FA Cup replay not withstanding) taking place against Curzon Ashton on Tuesday 27 September at 7:45pm.

League Cup: Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United

Two things certainly worth mentioning about the upcoming third round of the League Cup with a special occasion being marked at Loftus Road and reduced prices at St James’ Park.

Queens Park Rangers were a third division side when they won the League Cup in 1967, beating West Bromwich Albion 3-2 in a thrilling Wembley final, the first in the competition to be staged at the venue as the Football League sought to increase interest among top-flight clubs by also offering a place in Europe for the winners.

A Guardian article from 2012 tells the story of a famous fightback by the R's, capped, implausibly, by a man named Lazarus.

To mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of that triumph, QPR have made tickets for the game against Sunderland on Wednesday 21 September available at just £6.70 for Adults, Over-60's and 18-21's. Under-18's are priced at £5 with accompanied Under-8's free.

Agreement from both clubs is needed to make ticket offers for cup ties and the above prices apply to Sunderland supporters as well.

Tickets must be purchased in advance to qualify for the reduced prices.

In the North East, meanwhile, Newcastle United have reduced prices for their tie with Wolves on Tuesday 20 September to £10 Adults and £3 Concessions, a good move to capitalise on the positive vibes that have been generated by Rafa Benitez and both his and the club’s attempts to re-engage with its supporter base.

Again, buy in advance for the reduced prices.

FA Vase First Qualifying Round / Woodbridge Town FC

Another road to Wembley begins this weekend when the First Qualifying Round of the FA Vase takes place up and down the country.

The Vase effectively replaced the FA Amateur Cup in 1974 and since then it has offered a host of clubs from small towns and villages the chance to play at Wembley with entry restricted to those teams playing at steps 5-7 of the FA National League System.

I was there in 1983 when VS Rugby defeated Halesowen Town while nearly 20,000 Hereford supporters attended last season's final, won 4-1 by Morpeth Town to continue a fine record for Northern League clubs in the competition.

That 2016 showpiece was the first to be staged as a double-header with the FA Trophy in a move that will hopefully secure the future of the final at Wembley.

Full fixtures

A special mention to Woodbridge Town FC, of the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League, who host their annual Youth Day on Saturday at Notcutts Park.

Players and families from all of the club's 20 teams will all be in attendance and there is free admission for all spectators for the Vase tie with Hatfield Town which kicks off at 3pm.

UEFA Women’s Champions League

Some bits and pieces that may be of interest regarding the 2016/17 Champions League.

The draw for the last 32 stage was made last week with two English and two Scottish teams amongst the names in the hat.

Glasgow City have been drawn against Eskilstuna United of Sweden with the Scottish champions at home in the second leg. This will take place at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie on Thursday 13th October at 7:45pm with tickets priced at £10 Adults and £5 U16's. 

Hibernian’s Easter Road stadium will be the venue for Hibs Ladies glamour tie against Bayern Munich. Hibs have been drawn at home in the first leg which will take place on either 5/6 October.

Reigning FA WSL champions Chelsea will meet last season's Champions League runners-up Wolfsburg for the second successive season. Chelsea will be at home for the first leg on 5/6 October.

Manchester City are making their debut in the competition and are likely to be heading into their tie against Zvezda Perm of Russia as the new WSL champions. City have been drawn at home in the first leg which will take place at their Academy Stadium on either 5/6 October.

Although it will not have an impact on this competition, it is hoped going forward that moving the FA WSL season to a winter schedule will allow English teams a greater opportunity to reach the final stages of the Champions League having previously been hampered by a lack of competitive games just as the tournament was reaching its most important time.

This season’s Champions League final will be played at the Cardiff City Stadium on,1 June, two days ahead of the men’s Champions League showpiece at the Millenium Stadium, and which should provide an affordable means of taking in some of the atmosphere of the whole occasion.

Non-League Day 2016, Altrincham FC

Rainy conditions at Moss Lane, the home of Altrincham FC, ahead of a fiercely-contested (a cliche but true in this case) derby between the hosts and Stockport County on Saturday afternoon.

For Non-League Day, admission was reduced to £5 for season ticket holders at clubs from the Premier League to League Two and a large travelling support swelled the attendance to 2,355.

The two clubs' Under-18 sides will meet at the same venue this coming Friday in the FA Youth Cup with admission priced at £3 & £2 for the 7:45pm kick-off.

Before that, Alty's first team are back in action at the J.Davidson Stadium against Chorley in the National League North on Tuesday evening with new manager Jim Harvey watching on!

Non-League Day 2016

Non-League Day has been and gone for 2016, Saturday's efforts up and down the country gaining lots of positive media coverage and, hopefully, increased awareness among many supporters of the club on their doorstep.

It was a refreshing end to what, for me, was a deflating week football-wise. I wrote recently about the impending Football League Trophy and how ill-judged I thought it was.

The reality was even worse, with plenty of examples to illustrate how poorly thought-out the competition is and how misleading are the claims that it will benefit young, English players, the hat-trick scored by 28-year-old French midfielder Tony Andreu for Norwich City at Peterborough perhaps the most striking of these.

Well-publicised supporter boycotts and individual hostility to the competition changes meant attendances were satisfyingly low but it feels like a small victory in the battle to stop the relentless charge of the Premier League juggernaut.

Wednesday's transfer deadline was another example as clubs in League One and Two scrambled to make loan signings from top-flight clubs ahead of the window closing while spending records were broken at the top level.

When you add in talk of a major re-organisation of the Football League it all adds up to an uncertain future for many clubs at that level of the game, caught as they are between chasing the dream of top-flight or Championship football and remaining rooted in their community.

Although the National League has some of those problems, I think there is an increasing appetite for the simple pleasures of watching a game lower down the pyramid.

Non-League Day has tapped into that and, hopefully, plenty of people will have seen something this weekend that they want to return to in future.

Atherton Collieries FC

Currently celebrating their centenary year after being formed in 1916 by miners from the six pits which were then operating in the Lancashire town, Atherton Collieries FC are proudly sporting their centenary badge on their shirts and enjoying an excellent start to the season with a fourth straight league victory coming at Hanley Town on Saturday.

This coming Monday sees Barnoldswick Town visiting the Kensite Stadium with usual admission prices of £5 Adults and £3 Concessions applying. Then, on Saturday 10th September the club will host their first ever Armed Forces Day in support of Combat Stress, the veterans' mental health charity.

Admission on the day will be 'Pay What You Want' which is the third time the club have tried such an initiative...

@AffordableFooty - Hi, we've done it once. Got 231 on against Barnton in February 2015

— Atherton Collieries (@ACFC1916) 1 September 2016

@AffordableFooty - Apologies, we also did it against Nelson last season after original was abandoned. Got 176 on. Cheers!

— Atherton Collieries (@ACFC1916) 1 September 2016

All admission money will go to the charity as respects are also paid to those from the area who lost their lives during the Battle of the Somme, 100 years ago, and whose names will be printed on the programme cover.

The Kensite Stadium, on Alder Street in Atherton, can be reached quite easily by public transport from Manchester as the detailed guide on the official club website explains.

Celebrating All Clubs Big and Small on Non-League Day

The beauty of the pyramid system in English football is the sheer breadth and depth of the game with clubs acting as a focal point for their local community whether in a small village or the suburbs of a major city.

This Saturday's Non-League Day celebrates all levels below the Football League and, while the National League is increasingly a competition of full-time clubs the spirit of non-league lives on in many of them.

So, at the top level of non-league this weekend we have Guiseley AFC offering season ticket holders the chance to bring a friend for free and £5 off admission for season ticket holders from any club, in any sport.

At Gateshead meanwhile, entry prices have been reduced and accompanied U16's can watch for free as Sutton United are the visitors to the International Stadium. Kids can also go free as Chester FC launch their new family zone against Forest Green Rovers.

But Non-League stretches way down.

Down into the Cheshire Football League for instance where it is 'Pay What You Want' to watch Rylands FC against Poynton with a free matchday programme, into the Western League where Cribbs FC are offering free admission and complimentary programmes for the visit of Bradford Town and into the Midland Football League where it is also free to watch Feckenham FC as they entertain Paget Rangers.

There are opportunities everywhere to catch a match this Saturday with the game finder map on the official Non-League Day webpage a good place to start.

Away from NLD, I must also give a mention to FA WSL2 side London Bees who host Birmingham City at The Hive in a Continental Cup semi-final this Saturday at 2pm. All tickets have been reduced to just £1 as the Bees aim to reach October's final at the Manchester City Academy Stadium.