Game Of The Week: Queen's Park v Stenhousemuir

A big year in the history of both Queen's Park FC and Hampden Park begins this coming Saturday, January 4th, with a Scottish League Two game against Stenhousemuir.

2019 has seen the members of Scotland's oldest club vote, with heavy hearts perhaps, to end their amateur status in a bid to compete on a more level playing field with both those teams around them ambitious clubs below in the Lowland League.

And if that was not momentous enough the year also saw the sale of Hampden to the Scottish FA for £5 million and a move next door to Lesser Hampden from the beginning of next season (New Year's Eve has seen news that planning permission has been granted for the development of Lesser Hampden to increase capacity to 1,700).

For the National Stadium, which came close to losing out to Murrayfield for that title, it hopefully means a revamp that makes it a better place to watch a game from with many supporters critical of the view from behind the goals and the lack of atmosphere since the change to an all-seater ground.

Hampden Park will be hosting matches at Euro 2020 with Scotland hoping to secure the last place in Group D alongside England, Croatia and the Czech Republic.

The Scots must first come through the play-offs and have home advantage against Israel in March, a game for which ticket prices have been reduced.

Before then, and with no competition from Scottish Premier League matches this Saturday, Queen's Park have a special admission offer...

Can you believe this? Admission prices for the @Ladbrokes SPFL2 game between @queensparkfc and @StenhousemuirFC on January 4 @Hampdenpark have been slashed to just £5. #FiverFootball Check it out - https://t.co/cCtnFYEa3N pic.twitter.com/mrE472tWDc

— Queen's Park FC (@queensparkfc) 30 December 2019

Bradford City’s 2020 Vision

2019 was the year when a famous football name, in the shape of Bury FC, were suddenly erased from the fixture lists with Gigg Lane standing empty and forlorn on Saturday afternoons.

We’ve become used to the 11th hour rescues that have saved many a club in the past but this time there was no white knight and the Shakers (for now) are no more.

With Bolton having just survived and Macclesfield’s future looking bleak it calls into question the whole viability of clubs in League One and Two.

The way all three of the above have been run can be called into question but what is clear is that the battle for financial survival is getting more and more difficult at the lower levels of the Football League.

A recent report highlighted how stretched things in the Championship are becoming as owners chase the Premier League ‘dream’ and the clubs in that division will continue to push for a greater share of income from the EFL to act as some kind of buffer if they fail to make it into the top-flight.

I’ve often felt that leaves League One and Two clubs increasingly in a kind of limbo where they have the extra costs that go alongside being in the EFL without being able to offer spectators the kind of freedoms they get at a lower level and admission prices are a symbol of that in many ways.

One-off reductions are always welcome, of course, but the short-term firefighting often makes it difficult to really make a concerted push to increase supporter numbers year-on-year.

Bradford City are one of the exceptions but it has taken a huge amount of hard work from the Bantams to do so, their offer of low-price season tickets having survived a change of ownership and relegation back to League Two.

Tickets are already on sale for the 2020/21 season under the 'City For All' banner, priced at £150 for those over 16, £100 for under 16's and £25 for under 11's. 

There is also the FlexiCard option, for those unable to commit to a season ticket, with an initial £50 payment and then payment on a matchday of £10 adults, £5 for under 16's and nothing for under 11's. 

Pop Down To Your Local

As the festive season approaches there are a host of fixtures scheduled at all levels of the game and across all parts of the country.

Hopefully the weather, which has seen many a match postponed over the past couple of months (including today), will produce just the right formula for watching football over the holiday period, cold enough to see your breath but with a winter sun in the air.

A good couple of attendances over this time can make a big difference to local clubs but what is striking as I follow the fortunes of a lot of teams on Twitter is how many are becoming genuine community hubs themselves.

That is especially reflected at this time of year in the number of collections being run for food banks, the homeless and other local charities.

And what about the benefits of simply going out to a game and being amongst people?

That’s if you want to, one of the pleasures at non-league level for me is the ability to find a quiet spot and mull a few things over.

I know quite a few people who baulk at the idea of paying a fiver or more to watch something they don’t deem to be a ‘proper’ game but for me that misses the point in many ways.

Wherever you’re going, enjoy the match, thanks for reading the blog this year and Merry Christmas.

Catch A Match Before Christmas

A busy week of action ahead, weather permitting as always at the moment it seems, and here's some games to look out for.

Newhaven FC of the Southern Combination Football League are offering Pay What You Want admission to Tuesday night's home game against Alfold FC.

On Saturday there is free entry for public service workers (police, NHS, fire, ambulance, military) at Gresley FC when they host Selston while it is festive football for a fiver at Banbury United and kids go free for the visit of Needham Market.

In League Two there is also football for a fiver at Morecambe with Newport County the visitors. Concessions are £3 and Juniors £1 when tickets are purchased prior to matchday.

In the Fa Youth Cup there is a big evening ahead on Tuesday, 7pm, for the youngsters of Croydon FC as they have a third round clash at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic.

Admission is priced at £3 Adults, £1 Concessions for non-season card holders.

Building Up To Boxing Day

Around this time last year I wrote that 'one of the best things about Non-League football in England is surely the fact that the festive period sees so many local derbies taking place up and down the country.

Healthy rivalries that rarely overstep the mark allow for clubs to meet, often twice in the space of a few days, and reap the benefits at the gate of bumper attendances.'

The build-up has already begun for many clubs who are looking forward to a Boxing Day clash with their local rivals and hoping that the weather relents to allow games to take place that can prove so crucial in terms of finances.

Pilkington FC, newly promoted into the North West Counties League, are counting down to a first competitive clash against co-tenants St Helens Town at 3pm on December 26th with admission priced at £4 Adults, £2 Concessions and free for Under 16's while just £10 gets you a seat, a pint, a pie and a programme (contact the club for details).

Tooting & Mitcham United

A notable 5-0 victory away to Chertsey Town in the Isthmian League South Central division on Saturday afternoon puts Tooting & Mitcham into fourth place and also nicely sets up next weekend's clash with Ware FC at Imperial Fields.

The club are offering free admission with a leaflet which can be found on their Twitter page and there will also be a Santa's grotto, face painting and plenty of festive food and drink.

Also coming up this week are a number of FA Youth Cup ties including matches scheduled for Carrow Road, Riverside Stadium, The Hawthorns and the Madejski Stadium.

Manchester United's home game against Lincoln City on Friday evening (13th, 7pm) is not being played at Old Trafford but is free admission at Leigh Sports Village.

Catching A Glimpse

I always like to look out for a ground wherever I am and the central location of Sincil Bank made it easy to have a quick walk around last Sunday morning.

It's always pleasing to me to see a club rooted in their local community and not physically cut off  in an out-of-town location.

The local Lincolnshire Echo reported on how crowds are holding up well despite the upward progress of the last few years, perhaps inevitably given the departure of the Cowley brothers, having slowed slightly.

It was also good to see a busy Imps shop in the city centre.

I was in Lincoln the day after the club's youngsters had made it into the third round of the FA Youth Cup and an away day against Manchester United which sadly won't be played at Old Trafford.

The following ties are being played at Premier League grounds, however.

AFC Bournemouth host Barnet at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday 11th, 7pm, with tickets priced at £5 Adults, £3 for Over 65's, Under 21's and Students and £1 for Under 16's.

On Tuesday 10th it is Norwich City against Newcastle United at Carrow Road, kick-off 7pm, with admission on the night priced at £3 and £1.

Bramall Lane is the venue for Sheffield United against AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday 17th, 7pm. Admission is priced at £3/£1.

And this coming week in the FA Youth Cup there are scheduled matches at Pride Park and Elland Road among others.