Last summer there was praise for Neil Warnock on these pages after he took a full-strength Cardiff City side to Taff's Well FC for a friendly that came about because of the Bluebirds boss' belief that professional clubs should always try and maintain strong roots with their local community.
And promotion to the Premier League has not changed Mr Warnock at all as not only will Cardiff repeat their trip to Taff's Well on 13 July but they will also not be swayed by the prospect of a Far East tour but will instead return to Devon and Cornwall for a full week of friendlies involving both the senior and Under 23 teams, all of which I am sure will be of huge benefit to the host clubs.
"Last year was a success," said Warnock "and I'm expecting even more of our fans to come down for a holiday and what will be a great, family-oriented week!"
Other pre-season snippets that I have come across so far include Friendlies for a Fiver at Runcorn Linnets and also Sevenoaks Town where a ticket covering all five pre-season home games can be obtained for £18.
Admission to Chorley home friendlies will be £5 with Under 12's free with Tranmere Rovers the first confirmed visitors on July 24 and Ashford United have a six-game ticket for their pre-season matches at Homelands which will cost £25.
A number of the sites on our links page are good places for finding out about pre-season matches and I'll update as much as possible on Twitter throughout the summer.
Monday, 28 May 2018
Friday, 25 May 2018
Stevenage FC
Now preparing for their ninth season in the Football League, Stevenage are looking to build both on and off the field after the return to the club late last season of Dino Maamria, a key part of the coaching set-up under Graham Westley a decade ago when successive promotions brought League One football to Broadhall Way.
A positive end to the season has been followed by some wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, defender Ben Wilmot moving to Watford for a club-record fee and Maamria dipping into the Non-League market for Stockport County midfielder James Ball and defender Luther Wildin from his former club Nuneaton Town.
Work has also recommenced on the new North Stand at the Lamex Stadium and chairman Phil Wallace is eager to harness both developments into a wider push for a greater community involvement and connection with the club.
He told local newspaper The Comet in March that: "We have collectively been so busy trying to balance the books we have forgotten our roots and how a club originating in the lower leagues should engage with its fans."
£99 season tickets in the new stand will have to wait until a completion date nears but season tickets have been frozen for the fifth successive year and matchday prices have been reduced with £15 Adult tickets available in the East Terrace and family ticket packages also cut in price.
A positive end to the season has been followed by some wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, defender Ben Wilmot moving to Watford for a club-record fee and Maamria dipping into the Non-League market for Stockport County midfielder James Ball and defender Luther Wildin from his former club Nuneaton Town.
Work has also recommenced on the new North Stand at the Lamex Stadium and chairman Phil Wallace is eager to harness both developments into a wider push for a greater community involvement and connection with the club.
He told local newspaper The Comet in March that: "We have collectively been so busy trying to balance the books we have forgotten our roots and how a club originating in the lower leagues should engage with its fans."
£99 season tickets in the new stand will have to wait until a completion date nears but season tickets have been frozen for the fifth successive year and matchday prices have been reduced with £15 Adult tickets available in the East Terrace and family ticket packages also cut in price.
Tuesday, 22 May 2018
Before You Head Off…
A few more matches that may be of interest before the final, final whistle is blown on the 2017/18 season.
Bramall Lane hosts the FA WPL play-off this Sunday at 2pm as Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic, champions of the Northern and Southern divisions respectively, meet with a potential place in the newly-named FA Women’s Championship next season.
That is dependent on whether the winning clubs wishes to make the step up and meets the requirements of the new division with all eyes on the subsequent announcement as to which clubs have been allocated places in the Women’s Super League and the Championship for 2018/19.
Tickets are priced at £5 Adults, £2.50 Concessions and Kids for a Quid.
Women's World Cup qualifiers are also scheduled for Scotland and Wales in June.
The Falkirk Stadium hosts Scotland against Belarus on Thursday June 7 (kick-off 7.35pm) with admission £5 Adults and £2 Concessions.
On the same evening Wales play Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Liberty Stadium (7pm) before the Newport Stadium is the venue for their match against Russia on June 12.
Tickets for both games are priced at £5 Adults and £2 Concessions.
Bramall Lane hosts the FA WPL play-off this Sunday at 2pm as Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic, champions of the Northern and Southern divisions respectively, meet with a potential place in the newly-named FA Women’s Championship next season.
That is dependent on whether the winning clubs wishes to make the step up and meets the requirements of the new division with all eyes on the subsequent announcement as to which clubs have been allocated places in the Women’s Super League and the Championship for 2018/19.
Tickets are priced at £5 Adults, £2.50 Concessions and Kids for a Quid.
Women's World Cup qualifiers are also scheduled for Scotland and Wales in June.
The Falkirk Stadium hosts Scotland against Belarus on Thursday June 7 (kick-off 7.35pm) with admission £5 Adults and £2 Concessions.
On the same evening Wales play Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Liberty Stadium (7pm) before the Newport Stadium is the venue for their match against Russia on June 12.
Tickets for both games are priced at £5 Adults and £2 Concessions.
Tuesday, 15 May 2018
National League Promotion Final 2018
Less than a minute into Saturday's National League Promotion Final and it looked as though Tranmere Rovers would be experiencing the disappointment of defeat for a second successive season after nerves got the better of Liam Ridehalgh and he was dismissed for a lunging challenge after losing control of the ball.
However the red card seemed to temporarily unnerve opponents Boreham Wood, as if they were unsure what approach to now take to a game they had entered as underdogs.
During those crucial next few minutes Tranmere managed to get their noses in front and then made a tactical substition that allowed them to regroup and invite Boreham Wood to try and break them down.
So successful was the Rovers rearguard that they only conceded one clear-cut chance in the remainder of the first half but that was enough to pull Boreham Wood level deep into stoppage time.
The pattern continued after the break in a match of few chances but one that was an absorbing battle of wits and was decided by James Norwood's header less then ten minutes from time.
An explosion of joy at the final whistle made it clear how much promotion meant to a Tranmere club who came so close last year and, although it's so often a football cliche, the support that came relentlessly from the stands really did seem to make a difference to the players on the field when they needed it most.
It was good to see, too, how the players made sure that chairman Mark Palios got to lift the trophy and how he was cheered by fans when appearing on the big screen.
I wrote in May 2015 about how determined both Mark and Nicola Palios were that relegation out of the Football League would not spell the end of the club and huge credit goes to both of them and everyone at Prenton Park for embracing the challenge of the National League while trying their utmost to get out of it, all the while trying to put Tranmere on a more secure economic footing.
As for the occasion itself this was the second year that I had taken up the 'early-bird' offer for neutral supporters to attend the National League Promotion Final for £20 (£10 concessions) which gives the buyer prime seats in the Club Wembley section of the stadium.
Many Non-League clubs were represented in this area and it offers a prime view of both the action and the after-match celebrations but prices for the two competing teams were more expensive which may reflect the costs involved for the National League to hire the stadium for their showpiece occasion.
The overall attendance of 16,306 also reflects the fact that Boreham Wood are a club very much on the up but who are at present trying to grow their supporter base.
Will the game be in North London game next year? Perhaps the potential sale of Wembley will be one of the factors in that.
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
Thatcham Town FC
A squad made up of first team players and trialists head to @Thatcham_TownFC this Friday for an end of season friendly!— Basingstoke Town FC (@Basingstoke_FC) 9 May 2018
Entry to the game will be half price meaning it’ll be £3 for adults, £2 for concessions & 50p for children! #UpTheStoke ⚽️🔵 pic.twitter.com/Yej0S8uKiX
A friendly tune-up for Thatcham Town this Friday ahead of their appearance in the FA Vase Final at Wembley on Sunday 21 May.
The Vase showpiece kicks-off at 12.15pm with Stockton Town the opposition before Brackley Town and Bromley FC contest the FA Trophy Final at 4.15pm as part of Non League Finals Day.
Tickets covering both matches are available, priced £25 Adults, £10 Concessions and £1 for Under 16's.
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
A Wembley Showcase As Women's Game Awaits Another Shake-Up
Women's Football enjoyed the perfect showcase on Saturday afternoon as over 45,000 people came to Wembley to watch Chelsea defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final and keep alive hopes of a domestic double after a fine season in which they also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Sensible pricing of £15 for Adults, £5 for Concessions and free for children, publicised well in advance, made for an excellent crowd and an occasion worthy of prime-time BBC coverage.
It's back to the bread and butter of the league now for the two teams with Chelsea hoping to edge past a Manchester City side who currently lead the table on goal difference only with four games remaining.
And then it will be all change again in the Women's game as the new league structure is put into place for the 2018/19 season.
FA WSL1 will be for full-time clubs only with WSL2 renamed as the Championship and the Women's Premier League North and South becoming the FA Women's National League.
The make-up of the leagues is yet to be finalised with nine vacancies remaining in the top two leagues and a number of clubs having applied for licences.
One of the places in the Championship will be allocated to the winner of the play-off between the WPL Northern and Southern champions (provided they wish to apply and that a licence is granted).
That game will take place at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on Sunday 27 May with entrance priced at £5 Adults, £2.50 Concessions and Kids for a Quid with the remaining licence allocations announced subsequently.
Also of interest this coming weekend is another free admission WSL2 game at London Bees where the home side take on Sheffield in a 4pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon.
Sensible pricing of £15 for Adults, £5 for Concessions and free for children, publicised well in advance, made for an excellent crowd and an occasion worthy of prime-time BBC coverage.
It's back to the bread and butter of the league now for the two teams with Chelsea hoping to edge past a Manchester City side who currently lead the table on goal difference only with four games remaining.
And then it will be all change again in the Women's game as the new league structure is put into place for the 2018/19 season.
FA WSL1 will be for full-time clubs only with WSL2 renamed as the Championship and the Women's Premier League North and South becoming the FA Women's National League.
The make-up of the leagues is yet to be finalised with nine vacancies remaining in the top two leagues and a number of clubs having applied for licences.
One of the places in the Championship will be allocated to the winner of the play-off between the WPL Northern and Southern champions (provided they wish to apply and that a licence is granted).
That game will take place at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on Sunday 27 May with entrance priced at £5 Adults, £2.50 Concessions and Kids for a Quid with the remaining licence allocations announced subsequently.
Also of interest this coming weekend is another free admission WSL2 game at London Bees where the home side take on Sheffield in a 4pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon.
Friday, 4 May 2018
Football For A Fiver At Hamilton Accies
Saturday's 2-0 victory at home to Ross County has gone a long way to securing Scottish Premiership status for Hamilton Academical into 2018/19.
As the BBC Scotland report on the game this represents a huge achievement given the club's resources and fan base with just over 2,000 in attendance at New Douglas Park (the only Scottish ground I have seen a live match at which is an unforgivable state of affairs that I will look to rectify as soon as possible).
But with top-flight football surely on the way again for next season efforts are ongoing to keep up the engagement with the local community and the Accies are offering supporters reduced price admission to the game against St Johnstone on Tuesday 8th May (7.45pm).
Adult entry is £5 (all over 18's) and £1 for Under 18's and prices apply to away fans too.
As the BBC Scotland report on the game this represents a huge achievement given the club's resources and fan base with just over 2,000 in attendance at New Douglas Park (the only Scottish ground I have seen a live match at which is an unforgivable state of affairs that I will look to rectify as soon as possible).
But with top-flight football surely on the way again for next season efforts are ongoing to keep up the engagement with the local community and the Accies are offering supporters reduced price admission to the game against St Johnstone on Tuesday 8th May (7.45pm).
Adult entry is £5 (all over 18's) and £1 for Under 18's and prices apply to away fans too.
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Affordable Football On Twitter
Our Twitter page is where I try and update on a daily basis with any matches coming up that may be of interest and there is still plenty going as the loose ends of the 2017/18 season begin to be tied up.
This Bank Holiday weekend for instance there is free football at the Liberty Stadium on Friday evening (7pm), as Swansea City Under 23's take on Aston Villa in the final of the Premier League Cup and lots more besides.
The European Under 17 Championship kicks off at venues across the Midlands and South Yorkshire and there are plenty of eye-catching games for under a fiver and a fiver is all it will cost an adult to watch Hamilton Accies final home game of the season next Tuesday.
This Bank Holiday weekend for instance there is free football at the Liberty Stadium on Friday evening (7pm), as Swansea City Under 23's take on Aston Villa in the final of the Premier League Cup and lots more besides.
The European Under 17 Championship kicks off at venues across the Midlands and South Yorkshire and there are plenty of eye-catching games for under a fiver and a fiver is all it will cost an adult to watch Hamilton Accies final home game of the season next Tuesday.
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