In Praise Of Neil Warnock

The Cardiff City manager can divide opinion in the game (and sometimes that division can be unequally weighted) but his name has cropped up twice in the past week in interesting articles I've read, both of which have a connection of sorts to the theme of this blog.

In last Sunday's Non-League Paper, the excellent Ian Ridley, vice-chairman at Salisbury FC where this week's Pay What You Want game against Oldham Athletic attracted nearly 500 spectators, was banging the drum for pre-season friendlies and how they can provide a financial lifeline for many clubs even before the start of the campaign proper.

As it gets increasingly more difficult to persuade managers of Football League and Premier League clubs to bring their sides to local Non-League grounds, Ian cited Neil Warnock as 'one of the exceptions' for his willingness to do so.

I then came across a piece on Wales Online which explained how Friday evening's friendly between Taffs Well FC and Cardiff City came about, basically boiling down to Mr Warnock knocking on the door of the Welsh League club's door and asking for a game as part of his belief that the major club in an area should be rooted in their local community.

A sell-out crowd of close to 3,000 were in attendance and, judging by the Twitter feedback a very enjoyable evening was had by all, one that also helped raise money for two charities as well as the hosts.

Free Football This Saturday

Next up is the first home pre season match with Maidenhead United. Noon kick off at Stag Meadow with FREE entry. Bouncy castle,Face painting pic.twitter.com/ewPCBTPBfR

— Windsor FC (@windsorfc) 12 July 2017

And a mention also to Squires Gate FC where this Saturday's friendly against Clitheroe is 'Pay What You Want' admission (minimum £1).

If you're in the Blackpool area and fancy watching a match, do as the club say and just throw in what you think you should pay to the two lads holding buckets on the gate.

Season tickets for 2017/18 are also on sale, costing just £50 and £30.

All In A Good Cause

Pre-season is a time when many Non-League clubs look to combine the serious business of getting ready for the new season with some valuable fundraising for a variety of causes.

The beneficiaries can vary, Hanwell Town for instance are supporting Bill Healey, a player for both themselves and Wingate & Finchley after he suffered a serious injury earlier this year.

His former clubs will meet in a friendly on Saturday 29 July at the Powerday Stadium where admission will be £5.

The Sutton Charity Cup is ongoing with eight clubs from the Sutton Coldfield area playing a series of matches over the summer to raise money for local causes.

Admission to each game is via a £2 donation with the Twitter page the best way of keeping up to date with fixtures.

This coming Saturday at Morecambe FC sees 'The Bay Trophy' contested for the first time between the Shrimps and Lancaster City.

A Family Fun Day precedes the action, admission for which is £5 and free for Under 16's with one of the local causes to benefit being the Neil Marshall Memorial Fund which was set up after the untimely passing of the former Lancaster captain.

Cheshunt FC host a Community Cup Fun Day on Saturday 29 July with three 60-minute matches taking place between the hosts, Harlow Town and Hertford Town between 11am annd 5pm and a host of other activities.

Tickets are priced at £10 Adults, £5 Concessions and £1 Children (20% discount when purchased online) and 50% of the profits will help fund an awareness campaign about the dangers of swimming in open water.

That's just a sample of what's out there so please see if there is anything happening locally to you and good luck to all of the clubs involved.

Coming Up

July 11: Paget Rangers host Bromsgrove Sporting in a pre-season friendly. Admission to this game and the fixture against Alvechurch on 22nd July is priced at £3 Adults, £2 Concessions.

Paget are also involved in the Sutton Charity Cup with seven other sides from the Birmingham area. Admission to each match in the competition is by a suggested £2 donation which goes to help local good causes.

July 11: Three home friendlies scheduled for Basingstoke Town as they entertain Eastleigh, Crystal Palace U23's (15th July) and Woking (18th July) and admission priced at £5 Adults, £2.50 Concessions and free for Under 16's.

July 11: Colchester United send an Under-23 side to Top Field, home of Hitchin Town and both this match and the game against Wealdstone on 29th July are set to be 'Pay What You Want' fixtures.

July 11: Marine FC admission prices for pre-season are £5 for all with Under 11's free with a paying adult. They entertain AFC Fylde, Southport (22nd July), Blackburn Rovers (29th July) and Bolton Wanderers (1 August).

July 15: Competitive action begins in Scotland with the opening fixtures in the Betfred League Cup. All of the teams in Group A, Inverness Caley Thistle, Falkirk, Brechin City, Forfar Athletic and Stirling Albion have agreed to mutually reduce prices to £10 Adults, £5 Concessions and Under 16's free for all of their respective fixtures.

July 15: The first of three home friendlies at Southport FC against EFL opposition as Blackpool are the visitors. This game, and those against Wigan Athletic (Tue 18th) and Accrington Stanley (Sat 29th) are priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and free for Under 18's.

July 15: AFC Telford United host a Wolves U23 side at the New Bucks Head. Admission to this game, and the friendly against Hereford FC on 22nd July will be £5 Adults, £3 Concessions, £1 Under 16's. 

July 15: A Chelsea XI visit Crawley Town with the hosts launching their new kit and planning a Family Fun Day as well. Advance tickets are just £1.

July 15: Lancaster City visit Morecambe for what both clubs hope will become a regular pre-season meeting. They will play for the 'Bay Trophy' with a Fun Day and Fundraising also taking place for local charities such as the Neil Marshall Memorial Fund which is in memory of the former Lancaster City captain who passed away last year. Admission is £5 for all except Under 16's who can come in for free.

July 15: Tadcaster Albion host Doncaster Rovers at the i2i Stadium with admission £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 for 6-17's. Games are also scheduled against Spennymoor Town and Leeds United and Sheffield United U23 sides.

July 15/16: The SJP Community Cup takes place at Hendon FC. Hemel Hempstead Town, Hitchin Town and Hayes & Yeading join the hosts with two matches on each day. Admission per day is £5 with Under 18's free. Hendon are also offering free entry to the game against Hanwell Town on 11th July.

July 18: Ashton United host Stockport County before a game against FC United of Manchester the following Tuesday (25th). Admission prices are £5 Adults and £3 for Under 16's.

July 18: The first of two Northamptonshire derbies in pre-season at Brackley Town, against Kettering and then against Rushden & Diamonds on 25th July. Admission prices are £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and free for Under-18's. 

July 19: The pre-season friendly between Merthyr Town and Newport County will be 'Pay What You Want' admission.

July 22: Three home friendlies at Banbury United begin with a game against Chippenham Town. Admission is priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 Under 16's. 

July 25: Rugby Town FC host Banbury United in the first of three planned pre-season friendlies at Butlin Road. Admission to the matches will be £5 Adults and £3 Concessions. Entry to the earlier games on the 3G pitch will be free.

July 25: Pre-season friendlies at Merstham FC are £5 entry with visits planned from an AFC Wimbledon XI, Cray Wanderers (Sat 5th August) and a Crystal Palace XI (Tue 8th August). 

July 29: The annual Tony Downes Memorial Trophy match takes place at Droylsden FC with Ashton United the visitors. Admission to the Butchers Arms will be £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 Under 16's.

July 29: Maidstone United host Southend United Under 21's at the Gallagher Stadium. Admission is priced at £5/£3/£2 and free for Under 11's. 

July 29: Hoffenheim provide attractive opposition for a friendly at Pride Park and fair play to Derby County for making tickets just £5 (£1 Under 12's).

July 29/30: The O'Neills Invitation Cup takes place at Farnborough FC with four matches across the weekend involving the hosts, Hartley Wintney, Basingstoke Town and Fleet Town. Two-day tickets cost £12 Adults, £10 Concessions, £6 for 16-21's and free for Under 16's. 

August 4: The Thanet Derby in pre-season between Ramsgate FC and Margate FC is £5 for Adults, £3 for Concessions, £1 for 12-16's and free for U12's. The same prices apply at Ramsgate's two other home matches, against Balham FC on Tuesday 18th July and Three Bridges on Saturday 29th July.

August 5: There is free entry at Folkestone Invicta for the friendly at home to Thamesmead Town when the two clubs will be playing for the Sid Burvill Cup in honour of Invicta's late groundsman.

August 8: More free football in Kent, this time at Ashford United FC where the doors are open for the final pre-season friendly against Kennington FC.

The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

The draw for the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round was made earlier this week, the ties set to kick-off the Non-League season when they take place over the weekend of Saturday 5 August.

A total of 185 matches are available to watch up and down the country and many of them will cost little more than a fiver to attend.

As the draw is done on a regional basis at these early stages there are inevitably plenty of local derbies but two in particular stand out with one already making national headlines.

That is the meeting of Northwich Victoria and 1874 Northwich, the club formed by disillusioned Vics fans five years ago,

On a personal level, the most interesting tie involves another recently formed club, Coventry United who were established in 2013 when Coventry City began playing matches in Northampton, albeit not as a breakaway club.

United, who have season tickets on sale for £99, will play their matches at the Butts Park Arena from this summer onwards, the home of Coventry Rugby Club often mentioned as the most likely new home for the Sky Blues where they ever to leave the Ricoh.

And that will be the venue for their FA Cup tie against my hometown club Rugby Town.

Pick Of The Weekend Friendlies

The first full weekend of friendlies across the country and there's plenty of action going on.

Pre-season for Erith Town FC starts with the visit of a Margate XI to the Erith Stadium and there is free admission to the 3pm kick-off.

Chadderton Town are very active on Twitter, looking to spread the word among the local community, and they have free admission to this Saturday's friendly against Maine Road which kicks-off at 2:30pm.

The opening friendly of the summer at Northallerton Town is 'Pay What You Want' for the visit of Knaresborough.

Football League clubs in action include Rotherham United, who make the short trip to Parkgate FC for a 2pm kick-off on Saturday with admission priced at £6 Adults and £4 Concessions, Bolton Wanderers begin preparations for the Championship at Chorley FC where entry is £5 with accompanied Under 12's free and MK Dons visit Aylesbury FC (kick-off also at 2pm) with admission £5 Adults, £2 Concessions.

There are four matches in two days just across the Scottish border as Gretna FC host the Raydale Cup. Workington AFC, Annan Athletic and a Carlisle United Youth team also take part.

Weekend tickets are priced at £12, day tickets at £7 with the action starting at 12pm on Saturday.

Rhyl FC host an open morning at the Corbett Sports Stadium between 9am and 12pm on Saturday with the chance for supporters to have a look behind the scenes at the club. This is followed by a 3pm friendly against City of Liverpool FC for which admission is priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £2 Juniors.

Pay What You Want

Pay What You Want matches have become a regular part of the footballing landscape over the past few years, especially at Non-League level in England but also as far up the pyramid as Brentford in the Championship and Inverness Caley Thistle in Scotland’s top-flight.

Motivations vary for making such an offer.

It can be tied in with a fundraising effort such as Hitchin Town’s Floodlight Fund, which was launched with a PWYW game to kickstart the bid to replace the ageing bulbs at Top Field, or act as a piece of positive publicity to spread the word about a club to the local population.

Albion Rovers enjoyed a year of such publicity when they offered Pay What You Want season tickets for the 2014/15 campaign, the media in Scotland and further afield taking notice of the Coatbridge club who (coincidentally?) gained promotion that very season.

Pay What You Want can happen in pre-season, a chance to get new spectators through the door and show off the improvements to the ground that have taken place over the summer, or it can come in the final match of the campaign, an opportunity to thank everyone for their support through the year.

Timing is an important factor, both in giving plenty of notice for the fixture to be publicised and in making the most of a date that gives the maximum amount of people in the area the chance to make your game.

International breaks are the most obvious example and Non-League Day sees a host of Pay What You Want matches up and down the country but it also helps if the nearest Premier League or Championship side are without a match until the following day or are facing a long away trip.

Publicity-wise, the social media age gives clubs a huge opportunity to market their game in the weeks leading up to it but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for a good old-fashioned poster or leaflet run in the local area.

And it is not just football where you can Pay What You Want.

It has been applied to theatre productions, new music releases (most notably when Radiohead made their ‘In Rainbows’ album available on such a basis in 2007) restaurants and cafes.

The difference when eating out in such an establishment is usually that people hand their money over when they have finished, based on what they felt the meal, or whole experience, was worth.

So, will the next innovation in football be PWYW as you head out of the ground, dependant on how entertaining your 90 minutes has been? That would put some pressure on the players to come up with a 5-4 thriller!