The new season fixtures for Premier League 2, the league competition for Under-23 sides, and with each club required to host a minimum of three matches at their main stadium the opening month of the campaign means plenty of chances to catch a game for just a few pounds, even for free on occasion.
Fixtures are always subject to late changes but as of today the official Premier League website lists the following which may be of interest in August.
Monday 12th: Derby County versus Chelsea at Pride Park.
Friday 16th: Spurs versus Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Monday 19th: Chelsea versus Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers at the King Power Stadium.
Friday 23rd: Arsenal versus Everton at the Emirates Stadium, Leicester City versus Brighton at the King Power, Newcastle versus Manchester United at St James' Park and West Brom versus Sunderland at The Hawthorns.
Saturday 24th: Aston Villa versus Norwich at Villa Park.
Friday 30th: Derby County versus Arsenal at Pride Park, Manchester United versus West Ham at Old Trafford and Sunderland versus Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light.
Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Monday, 29 July 2019
Scottish Lowland League
The new season is already underway in the Lowland League, one of the two leagues in Scotland that feed into the SPFL, the champions at the end of the campaign taking on their Highland League equivalents before a play-off against the side that finishes bottom of the pile in League Two.
The Lowland League prides itself on the affordability offered by each of its member clubs, season tickets were on sale for as low as £25 and matchday admission almost always includes change from a tenner for adults.
As I've written before, I really like the centralised Twitter page which advertises all upcoming fixtures with superb matchday posters, designed by Football Stadium Prints for the league.
This coming weekend's action starts with Cumbernauld Colts against BSC Glasgow on Friday evening before seven matches on Saturday.
The Lowland League prides itself on the affordability offered by each of its member clubs, season tickets were on sale for as low as £25 and matchday admission almost always includes change from a tenner for adults.
As I've written before, I really like the centralised Twitter page which advertises all upcoming fixtures with superb matchday posters, designed by Football Stadium Prints for the league.
This coming weekend's action starts with Cumbernauld Colts against BSC Glasgow on Friday evening before seven matches on Saturday.
Sunday, 28 July 2019
New Season, New Look For Welsh Football
The 2019/20 season sees a restructure of the game in Wales with the two feeder leagues into the Welsh Premier League coming under the control of the FAW.
A sponsorship deal with JD has been extended and there will be a rebranding of the top division to the JD Cymru Premier and the JD Cymru North and South at Tier 2, Colwyn Bay returning to the Welsh pyramid in the North division.
The top league doesn't enter the wider conscious too often but both The New Saints and Connah's Quay had good results in Europe recently, a television deal with S4C provides good coverage and the Welsh Premier League has consistently fared well on affordability in surveys such as the BBC's Price of Football.
For comprehensive coverage of the game at all levels in Wales, Y Clwb Pel-Droed is an excellent website to bookmark.
A sponsorship deal with JD has been extended and there will be a rebranding of the top division to the JD Cymru Premier and the JD Cymru North and South at Tier 2, Colwyn Bay returning to the Welsh pyramid in the North division.
The top league doesn't enter the wider conscious too often but both The New Saints and Connah's Quay had good results in Europe recently, a television deal with S4C provides good coverage and the Welsh Premier League has consistently fared well on affordability in surveys such as the BBC's Price of Football.
For comprehensive coverage of the game at all levels in Wales, Y Clwb Pel-Droed is an excellent website to bookmark.
Tuesday, 23 July 2019
Dereham Town FC
Shaping up for the new season in the Ishmian League Division One North, Dereham Town celebrate Norfolk Day this coming Saturday (27th July) with a friendly against Mattishall, the two teams competing for the Tony Barker Cup.
As well as Pay What You Want admission, with a collection being held for the Big C charity, there are loads of things going on before the match including free face painting for the kids.
I'm often in Norfolk at this time of year and spent an enjoyable evening at Cabell Park, home of Cromer Town, in early August 2018.
The Crabs have put out an appeal for players for the upcoming season in Anglian Combination Division Two as they aim to keep alive a club that has been in existence since 1884.
As well as Pay What You Want admission, with a collection being held for the Big C charity, there are loads of things going on before the match including free face painting for the kids.
I'm often in Norfolk at this time of year and spent an enjoyable evening at Cabell Park, home of Cromer Town, in early August 2018.
The Crabs have put out an appeal for players for the upcoming season in Anglian Combination Division Two as they aim to keep alive a club that has been in existence since 1884.
Friday, 19 July 2019
Catch A Final Match At Griffin Park
The 2019/20 season marks the final bow for Griffin Park, home of Brentford FC since 1904, with next year seeing the opening of the new Brentford Community Stadium at Lionel Road.
Having been scarred for life by Coventry City's move away from their spiritual home of Highfield Road, to the soulless modernity of the Ricoh Arena (and Northampton and Birmingham as well but that's a different story), I'm always wary of clubs heading for pastures new as you can never go back and if there's not much in the way of success on the pitch then the idea of trekking out to the ground appeals less and less.
But, crucially, Brentford are not going too far away, meaning that pre-match rituals can hopefully be preserved or altered only slightly, and they are going at a very stable time in the club's history with an innovative and forward-thinking owner happy to do things slightly differently to the football norm.
Every match at Griffin Park this coming season is being marketed as one to remember, from the local derby fixtures to the games under floodlights and one of those comes early on with the visit of Cambridge United in the League Cup on Tuesday 13th August.
With Ealing Road Terrace tickets just £5 for Adults and £1 for Under 18's this looks like a decent way to visit the famous old ground one more time.
Tickets are currently on sale to Club Members but are scheduled for general sale on Monday 22nd July.
Having been scarred for life by Coventry City's move away from their spiritual home of Highfield Road, to the soulless modernity of the Ricoh Arena (and Northampton and Birmingham as well but that's a different story), I'm always wary of clubs heading for pastures new as you can never go back and if there's not much in the way of success on the pitch then the idea of trekking out to the ground appeals less and less.
But, crucially, Brentford are not going too far away, meaning that pre-match rituals can hopefully be preserved or altered only slightly, and they are going at a very stable time in the club's history with an innovative and forward-thinking owner happy to do things slightly differently to the football norm.
Every match at Griffin Park this coming season is being marketed as one to remember, from the local derby fixtures to the games under floodlights and one of those comes early on with the visit of Cambridge United in the League Cup on Tuesday 13th August.
With Ealing Road Terrace tickets just £5 for Adults and £1 for Under 18's this looks like a decent way to visit the famous old ground one more time.
Tickets are currently on sale to Club Members but are scheduled for general sale on Monday 22nd July.
Tuesday, 16 July 2019
New Season 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.
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 while The Fitba Nomad has some great pieces on days out at Scottish grounds big and small.
I've always enjoyed Neil Jensen's writings in the Non-League Paper (the print edition of which is a great source for upcoming fixtures) but they are just the tip of the iceberg of his wonderful Game of the People website which has features and views on football in all corners of the globe.
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.
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 while The Fitba Nomad has some great pieces on days out at Scottish grounds big and small.
I've always enjoyed Neil Jensen's writings in the Non-League Paper (the print edition of which is a great source for upcoming fixtures) but they are just the tip of the iceberg of his wonderful Game of the People website which has features and views on football in all corners of the globe.
Thursday, 11 July 2019
125th Anniversary Celebrations At Marine FC
A special year in the history of Merseyside club Marine FC kicks off this weekend when National League South side Dulwich Hamlet play a friendly at the Marine Travel Arena.
Hamlet are fitting opponents to start a season of celebration as the two sides met in the 1932 FA Amateur Cup final, 22,000 watching the game at Upton Park.
Special commemorative home shirts will be worn for the first time with the game following on from a 125 launch night on Friday evening.
Marine chairman Paul Leary told the official club website: "It is a great milestone to be planning our 125th anniversary this coming season. This is something that has to be celebrated and the events planned over the year will in some way acknowledge the many people over the decades who have given so much of their lives to look after Marine Football Club."
Saturday's game kicks-off at 1pm to allow Dulwich extra time to travel home and admission is priced at £5 Adults and £3 Concessions.
Hamlet are fitting opponents to start a season of celebration as the two sides met in the 1932 FA Amateur Cup final, 22,000 watching the game at Upton Park.
Special commemorative home shirts will be worn for the first time with the game following on from a 125 launch night on Friday evening.
Marine chairman Paul Leary told the official club website: "It is a great milestone to be planning our 125th anniversary this coming season. This is something that has to be celebrated and the events planned over the year will in some way acknowledge the many people over the decades who have given so much of their lives to look after Marine Football Club."
Saturday's game kicks-off at 1pm to allow Dulwich extra time to travel home and admission is priced at £5 Adults and £3 Concessions.
Sunday, 7 July 2019
England Women Come Home To Wembley Date
Saturday's defeat by Sweden meant a fourth-place finish for England at the Women's World Cup, the play-off game an anti-climax after the rollercoaster of their semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual winners USA.
A place in the final four was probably in line with expectations prior to the tournament and the Lionesses will certainly have gained new supporters during the course of France 2019 without suddenly catapulting themselves into the mainstream consciousness of the nation.
And perhaps that is for the best, ensuring the domestic game can try and build on the work done by the national team in a steady fashion over the next two seasons, before England hosts the Euro 2021 tournament which will culminate in a Wembley final.
There's plenty to do as in the years I have been writing this blog there has never been a settled feel to the Women's Super League, in terms of scheduling, venues or even teams.
I've disagreed with a number of the reorganisations, seemingly designed to shoehorn bigger clubs (in terms of the men's game such as Manchester United who had no presence in the women's game until this time last year) but there is a great foundation to work with as a family-friendly and affordable source of competitive, quality football.
The next high-profile fixture for England is a Wembley date with Germany on Saturday 9th November at 5.30pm.
Advance tickets are available from just £10 Adults and £1 for Under 16's.
On the domestic front, Chelsea have been quick off the mark with an announcement that their opening game of the FA Women's Super League season, against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 8th September at 12.30pm, will be played at Stamford Bridge with up to four free tickets available per person.
A place in the final four was probably in line with expectations prior to the tournament and the Lionesses will certainly have gained new supporters during the course of France 2019 without suddenly catapulting themselves into the mainstream consciousness of the nation.
And perhaps that is for the best, ensuring the domestic game can try and build on the work done by the national team in a steady fashion over the next two seasons, before England hosts the Euro 2021 tournament which will culminate in a Wembley final.
There's plenty to do as in the years I have been writing this blog there has never been a settled feel to the Women's Super League, in terms of scheduling, venues or even teams.
I've disagreed with a number of the reorganisations, seemingly designed to shoehorn bigger clubs (in terms of the men's game such as Manchester United who had no presence in the women's game until this time last year) but there is a great foundation to work with as a family-friendly and affordable source of competitive, quality football.
The next high-profile fixture for England is a Wembley date with Germany on Saturday 9th November at 5.30pm.
Advance tickets are available from just £10 Adults and £1 for Under 16's.
On the domestic front, Chelsea have been quick off the mark with an announcement that their opening game of the FA Women's Super League season, against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 8th September at 12.30pm, will be played at Stamford Bridge with up to four free tickets available per person.
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Football For £1 At Crawley Town
Just under a year ago I wrote of Crawley Town that there was a 'sense of stability' on the managerial front as Harry Kewell prepared for his second campaign in charge of the Sussex club and that the Australian would be 'looking to push for the play-offs' in 2018/19.
Well, the Red Devils may have been slightly disappointed to have ended the campaign in 19th place in League Two but there was never any danger of relegation and they certainly enjoyed a better year than Kewell himself, lured away to Notts County at the end of August but out of the door in November, one casualty of a truly awful season at Meadow Lane.
The other part of last year's article holds true, however. Crawley continue to try and grow their fanbase, as a relatively new Football League club who have come a long way in a short space of time.
Swansea City's visit for a pre-season friendly on Saturday 13th July sees tickets priced at just £1 in all areas of the ground as part of the annual Fun Day with plenty of activities planned in addition to the game.
Well, the Red Devils may have been slightly disappointed to have ended the campaign in 19th place in League Two but there was never any danger of relegation and they certainly enjoyed a better year than Kewell himself, lured away to Notts County at the end of August but out of the door in November, one casualty of a truly awful season at Meadow Lane.
The other part of last year's article holds true, however. Crawley continue to try and grow their fanbase, as a relatively new Football League club who have come a long way in a short space of time.
Swansea City's visit for a pre-season friendly on Saturday 13th July sees tickets priced at just £1 in all areas of the ground as part of the annual Fun Day with plenty of activities planned in addition to the game.
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