Summer on the Isle

As one season begins to draw to a close...thoughts can already turn to the next and something different in the way of pre-season friendlies.

An early contender has to be the FC Isle of Man tournament, taking place between Friday 18 and Sunday 20 July with the hosts joined by Fleetwood Town, Radcliffe FC and Altrincham FC for two semi-final matches, a third-fourth place play-off and the final.

Four matches for £24 (£12 concessions) with special travel packages across to the island available through the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Hampden Road and the Road to Hampden

Hampden Road - the venue, in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, for the Montagu Cup final, the oldest football final still played at its original venue.

It's an 11am start on Easter Monday, 21 April, for AFP Pewter Pot and Westville with admission £3 and free for under-11's.

The Road to Hampden - the Women's Scottish Cup is at the semi-final stage with a Hampden Park double-header on Saturday 26 April (Glasgow City v Motherwell) and Sunday 27th (Rangers v Aberdeen).

Tickets for each game are priced at £10/£5.

Cottage Industry

Two good chances to catch a match at Craven Cottage before the season ends...the under-21 Premier League International Cup is at the semi-final stage with Lyon coming to London on Tuesday 22 April at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £3 adults and £1 for concessions.

And Fulham FC Women take on Sport London e Benfica on Sunday 4 May at 2:30pm with tickets priced at £5 adults and £1 for juniors. 

This time of year is a good one for under-21 matches being played at main club grounds as the weather improves. The official Premier League website has a good fixtures page that covers both Premier League 2 and the Professional Development League.

World's Oldest to New York

Just a few days after I watched Stocksbridge Park Steels recently they made the short journey to Sandygate for a Sheffield Senior Cup semi-final against Hallam FC.

An incredible attendance of 1,255 watched Hallam win and book a place in this season's final where they will play Worksop Town at Rotherham United's New York Stadium.

That game will take place on Thursday 8 May, kick-off 7.30pm, with admission priced at £10 adults, £5 concessions.

The same prices apply at the same venue the previous evening for the Women's Senior Cup final (finalists to be confirmed).

I've got good memories of VS Rugby having success in the Birmingham Senior Cup as a youngster and the county cups remain sought after, whether by smaller clubs enjoying an evening at a Premier League or EFL ground or even the under-21 sides of those bigger clubs who have made their way through the rounds.

Shot at Glory

Relegation out of the Football League isn't something that any club would willingly choose, especially those with proud records of service in the competition, but it can offer the chance of a reset and also of Wembley glory with a run in the FA Trophy.

York City, Wrexham and Cambridge United are amongst those clubs to have lifted the trophy in recent years and Rochdale will be hoping to emulate those feats by getting past Spennymoor Town at Spotland on Saturday 5th April.

Tickets for the game have been reduced to £12 for adults, as agreed by the two clubs, £8, £5 and £3 for under-14's.

On Top of the World

 

Take the steep walk up from the main street in Stocksbridge, or let the car or the Stocksbridge Flyer bus from Sheffield take the strain for you, pay your money on the turnstiles at Stocksbridge Park Steels (with change from a tenner for adults) and you are rewarded with a fantastic view as you walk in.

Smartly upgraded since I last came, with the accessible ramp you can see in the picture, Bracken Moor offers a number of different spots to watch a game from, higher up, on ground level or in the main stand.

On Saturday it hosted Carlton Town in a hard-fought clash of two teams in good form in the Northern Premier League East Division, the visitors scoring a goal in each half to earn the three points.

Steels, who have a big County Cup semi-final at Hallam FC on Tuesday evening, play their next home league match on Saturday 29 March.

A Long and Winding Road

Saturday's Championship fixtures were the reverse games from the opening weekend, giving an opportunity to reflect on how much can change in the space of a season, in football but also in life when you stop and think about it.

I followed Coventry City's opening day defeat at Stoke, not worrying too much about it given that Mark Robins' side had started the previous two seasons in a similar vein before reaching the play-offs in one and the FA Cup semi-finals in another.

Yet this Saturday, Robins was in the away dugout at the CBS Arena watching his Stoke side fail to move away from the relegation zone while Frank Lampard celebrated another late victory for the Sky Blues to keep them in the top six.

And on the Sunday of the opening weekend, as supporters of Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle enjoyed some beers in the Sheffield sunshine, I saw Wayne Rooney and his players leave their hotel to head for Hillsborough...

There is all to play for still at the top, in the play-off race and at the bottom and clubs are looking for home fans to make a difference.

Sheffield United host Coventry on Friday 28th and, with the game moved for live television coverage, have reduced prices to a maximum price of £20 while Hull City host Luton Town at lunchtime the next day and have cut ticket prices to a maximum of £15.

Way Out West (London)

Two good opportunities to visit Premier League grounds coming up later this month with Brentford FC Women back at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday 23rd, kick-off 3pm for their game against Bromley.

Tickets are priced at just £2 adults and are free for under-18's.

On Monday 17th, Fulham's under-21s will play their Premier League International Cup tie against Sporting Lisbon at Craven Cottage. Ticket details to be announced in due course for a 7pm kick-off but hopefully an inexpensive chance to be at the famous old ground.

Both of these games are sure to feature in what will be a bumper London Football Guide that week as Non-League Day founder James Doe highlights what will be a packed schedule.

Keep up to date using the Coming Up tab at the top of the home page as well.

Update: Tickets for the Fulham game are priced at £3 adults, £1 concessions.

Villa Park Double

Big games are coming thick and fast at Villa Park and the famous old ground was in good voice during Saturday's victory against Chelsea.

Those upcoming matches include two March cup ties for Villa's youngsters, against Barcelona in the UEFA Youth League round of 16, at 3pm on Tuesday 4th and in the FA Youth Cup on Friday 14th March when Plymouth Argyle are the visitors in the quarter-finals.

Tickets for the games are priced at £5 each, more info over on the Villa website.

March Matches

Much of the focus in March will be on Non-League Day 2025 and the many great admission offers and promotions will be in place on Saturday 22nd. Head over to the NLD website for more information and a match finder.

Here's some more games that may be of interest. Keep up to date on our Coming Up page.

Sunday 2nd: A double-header of FAW Youth Cup semi-finals at Park Avenue in Aberystwyth with admission £2 for adults and free for concessions. 

Monday 3rd: Monday night football for a fiver in the National League South when Aveley FC host Salisbury.

Tuesday 4th: National League football for £3 at Eastleigh FC. Buy in advance for their home game with Ebbsfleet United.

Saturday 8th: Reading YMCA vs AFC Winkfield in collaboration with the excellent Football in Berkshire website, who have chosen it as their first 'Hitting the Road' event. Admission to the Thames Valley Premier League game is free but a limited edition programme is available now, priced at £3.

Saturday 8th: Football for a Fiver at National League high-fliers Barnet when they entertain Dagenham & Redbridge at The Hive, concessions £2 and kids £1.

Friday 14th: Walsall Women vs Lichfield City at the Bescot Stadium (7.30pm). Tickets £5/£1 available online and on the evening.

Saturday 15th: Free admission at Redditch United for the home game against Bedford Town as well as a host of family-friendly activities going on.

Saturday 15th: Daggers Celebrate Diversity Day at Dagenham & Redbridge FC when Tamworth visit in the National League. Advance terrace tickets are priced at £2.50 adults and 50p for concessions.

Wednesday 19th: Inter-Services Football at Fratton Park as the Royal Navy take on the RAF. Tickets are free via this link.

Saturday 22nd: Hibernian vs Rangers in the final of the SWPL Cup at Fir Park, Motherwell. Tickets are on sale for the game, priced at £10 adults, £4 concessions and £25 for a family (2 adults, 2 children) and fans of all clubs and women's football in general are encouraged to attend. 

Last Word

I've written a few pieces on Goodison Park recently, highlighted some matches in the FA Youth Cup and WSL that hopefully will have given a few more people a chance to watch a game at the famous old ground.

The clock really is ticking now with only a handful of fixtures to come and memories to be made, like those in a wonderful article by Alexandra Topping in the Guardian this week. 

There is, of course, the final Merseyside derby at Goodison this week but there is also the reverse WSL fixture at Anfield on Sunday May 4.

An early-bird ticket offer is in place until 2pm on February 18 which sees adult tickets priced at £8 and juniors £2.50.

Lisbon Anyone?

Friday saw the quarter-final draw for this season's UEFA Women's Champions League take place, Manchester City and Chelsea being paired together while Arsenal meet Real Madrid.

Wolfsburg, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Lyon make up a heavyweight last eight with all of the teams eyeing the final which takes place in Lisbon on Saturday 24 May.

Tickets for that game, at the home of Sporting, will be available in a ballot (application period 20 to 26 February) with Category 3 prices just €10.

Fir's Fair

Fir Park, home of Motherwell FC, will host this season's Scottish Women's Premier League Cup final (currently known as the Sky Sports Cup) with Hibernian and Rangers meeting on Saturday 22 March at 3pm.

Tickets are on sale for the game, priced at £10 adults, £4 concessions and £25 for a family (2 adults, 2 children) and fans of all clubs and women's football in general are encouraged to attend. 

Before then, Scotland Women host the Netherlands at Hampden Park in a Nations League fixture on Tuesday 25 February at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £10 for adults and seniors with kids going free.

Bouncing Bescot

Good times at Walsall as the Saddlers are racing clear at the top of League Two on the back of nine consecutive league victories.

The February game against Gillingham on the 11th has been designated as Tenner Tuesday with tickets priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for under-12's.

Also at the Bescot Stadium next month, England Women's U23s take on Germany on Thursday 20th (7.30pm) for which tickets are £5/£3 and £1.

Early for England

I was mulling over an article on prices to watch England at Wembley when I noticed, via the England Football website that an early-bird offer has been put in place for the second of March's Wembley World Cup qualifier, the game against Latvia on Monday 24th.

Tickets, which go on general sale on 28 January, are now priced at £40/£30 for adults (with a £10 discount for concessions available) and £20/£10 for adults and under 16's in the family enclosure section which, looking at the ticket map will be available in around half of the Level 5 area of Wembley.

Given that England host Albania on the Friday before, it is a wise move from the FA as a Monday night in term time against Latvia is a difficult sell.

I don't think it changes the case for such a game to have been played at a different stadium, in another part of the country, and it doesn't change the practicaility or cost of getting to and from Wembley if you live more than a certain distance away, but is worth highlighting as an offer.

Updated 21 January: England Women's U23's have two matches lined up in February, against Germany on the 20th at Walsall FC and against France on the 25th at Stevenage FC. Tickets for each game are priced at £5 adults, £3 concessions and £1 for under 12's.

Red(ditch) Monday

This coming Monday, 20th January, is considered to be the 'bluest' day of the year, as Christmas recedes from memory, but if you fancy getting out to a game then there is football for a fiver at Redditch United when they host Leamington in the third round of the Birmingham Senior Cup with under 13's admission being free.

There are also a couple of Premier League International Cup matches at main stadiums next week.

Reading host Valencia on Tuesday 21st, tickets priced from £1-£4 and the following evening it is Sunderland versus Benfica at 7pm, tickets for non-season ticket holders costing £3/£1.

Not Many More Goodison Nights

Nearly 39,000 were in attendance at Goodison Park on a freezing Thursday night, watching Everton eventually see off Peterborough United in the FA Cup and also taking one of the dwindling chances to take in a game under the lights at the famous old stadium.

James Nalton had a nice piece on Goodison in Friday's Morning Star and there is a good chance to take in the surroundings on Tuesday 21 January when Everton U18s take on Wolves in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.

Admission to the game is priced at £5 adults and £3 for concessions, cash on the turnstiles as well!

Before then, Stoke City are offering free entry to their FA Youth Cup fixture against West Brom this coming Tuesday, 14 January, at 7pm.

Warm Up With Football for a Fiver

One of my favourite grounds for an old-fashioned football experience, Altrincham FC's Moss Lane plays host to the National League clash between the Robins and Maidenhead United on Tuesday 14 January.

Tickets for the game have been reduced to just £5 and £1 for under-12's.

Also in the National League, Wealdstone FC have designated their home game against Hartlepool United on Saturday 18 January as supporting Her Game Too, dedicated to creating a more inclusive environment within football.

Tickets for girls aged under 19 are available free of charge and are priced at £5 for women aged 19 and over.