Lincolnshire has a long and proud footballing history. Its broad acres are home to dozens of clubs, from the Football League to local parks football. Come on a journey to discover those grounds and find out more about the county’s clubs, both present and past.
Includes club information, admission prices, team colours, logos, maps, road and rail travel details, pictures of more than 50 grounds plus an enthralling history section of former clubs and grounds.
(Publisher: Penny for Your Sports Publications. August 2022. Paperback: 166 pages)
A country in lockdown – no more spectator sport, no more football.
When the situation eased in Germany, I tried getting my footie fix by watching the Bundesliga on TV but found it unbearable. I think it was the lack of crowd noise and probably because I don’t have any affiliation with a German side.
When the Premier League came back with added crowd noise I did find that better, and of course I had a greater interest through being a Chelsea supporter and the knowledge and familiarity that brings in terms of the Premier League. Given the blanket coverage by Sky, BBC etc. I also got the opportunity to see all of The Blues league games and the conclusion of their FA Cup involvement.
2020 FA Cup Final programme cover
It proved to be an exciting end to the Premier League season especially with the tense run-in to see whether Chelsea would make a top four finish, which they finally did with help of the woeful form of Leicester City. The Blues also made it to the FA Cup final beating Manchester United in the Semi-Final at an empty Wembley Stadium. Obviously, I was sad about the final result against Arsenal, but also disappointed with the level of refereeing. Mateo Kovacic should never have had a second yellow for that challenge, and I would have loved to have seen a replay of Gunners ‘keeper Emiliano Martínez “handball” incident in the second-half but can’t find a replay of it anywhere!!
However, it all looks good for next season with Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech already in the bag, and fingers crossed for Kai Havertz – we look stronger going forward. The club did well in blooding some youngsters through the season and it will be good to see this continue. I think Mason Mount will be a regular, Reece James has to unseat Dave at right back, but we have great cover there. Other youngsters I hope get more game time next season would be Billy Gilmour, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Fikayo Tomori. But we need to shore up the defence, we need a left back – shame we sold Tariq Lamptey to Brighton last season but need a defensive option with experience. We also need a commanding centre half, Christensen, Zouma and Rudiger, are too similar, and I feel we need another JT (John Terry). I think Fikayo can be this player but is too young and inexperienced so needs to be brought through without affecting his confidence.
But what of last season and my Incredible Journey? What an adventure and a strange ending to boot. First of all the statistics, let’s get the boring bit out of the way:
28 matches attended, 22 new ones to add to my list of grounds (current and previous members of the Football League and FA Cup winners)
I mingled amongst 137,781 fans, the biggest being at Turf Moor for Chelsea’s victory over Burnley (20,975) and the smallest being 2 – myself and one of the players girlfriends, at the Clapham Rovers vs Ladzio cup game, the next smallest being 54 at Shelley. An overall average attendance of 4,921.
12 wins, 6 away wins and 10 draws. 55 goals (33 first half, 22 second half. 31 home goals and 24 away goals).
On the road I travelled 2,476 miles, slightly skewed by a trip to Edinburgh to see Hearts vs Stenhousemuir (as part of holiday) and a trip to London, but I did manage to squeeze three games into that trip. The Clapham game being Sunday football was free and I was treated to a few games from Paul, Frank and Nick – cheers lads, but in total I spent £415.50 for my tickets, I would say extremely good value’
Let’s start with the least favourite game. Lincoln City away at Blackpool. An awful journey, sheeting rain all the way there and all the way back, delays on the M62 for the usual unknown reason other than the volume of traffic. I arrived twenty minutes after kick-off, missed all the goals and Lincoln lost. There’s always going to be one of these games a season and to be fair I kept drier at this game than others I had attended – it’s grim up north!
Clapham Rovers and guest!
The London weekend was definitely one of the highlights, not just the trip down to see my friends and family but the football aspect too. Two games on the Saturday – Brentford and AFC Wimbledon, and an absolute cracking time talking football and music with my mate Paul. We also got to see the developing new Brentford ground and on the Sunday I went to see the new stadium at Plough Lane. I followed this up watching Clapham Rovers in my old stomping ground in the Wimbledon/Southfields area. I had a great chat with their captain and manager Chris Kew, talking their plans for the coming years which (fingers crossed) might include a game against Charterhouse Old Boys, who of course are Old Carthusians FC winners of the FA Cup in 1880/81 – Rovers having already played against another Victorian FA Cup winning team, Wanderers FC in a charity game. On that Sunday I managed to get some cheeky photos of the team with me as their added guest. They invited me to the pub after the game, unfortunately I had other plans (a family meal) but wondered if perhaps they went to one of my old drinking haunts, The Pig and Whistle. I shall definitely be watching them again next time I am in London.
Stamford Bridge before developmentSincil Bank before development
Favourite grounds visited. I have enjoyed every ground I have visited during my journey for a multitude of reasons but primarily from a historical perspective. There are two grounds I have seen evolve over a number of years, Chelsea’s home, Stamford Bridge from the late 1960s and Lincoln City’s Sincil Bank stadium, from the early 1970s. It has influenced my preference for authentic and historic grounds, so unsurprisingly my favourite grounds on this journey have an element of history attached to them. The trip to London saw me visit Griffin Park, unique due to having a pub on each of the four corners of the ground and has been the home of Brentford since 1904. It was a privilege to attend what turned out to be the penultimate home game in front of their fans. The visit to Moss Rose – who knows what future lies for Macclesfield Town – was also a highlight, attending a ground which has been their home since 1891. Probably my two favourites were Turf Moor where Burnley, founder members of the Football League, have played since 1883 and the Anchor Ground where AFC Darwen now ply their trade and where the original Darwen FC played from 1899, where the clubhouse draws upon their historic beginnings.
As we have seen through lockdown and the coverage of football on TV, the game is nothing without fans in the ground. Most games have gone to form as opposed to offering the smaller home side the advantage of having a crowd baying them on. Throughout this journey, the fans have been brilliant right from the small 50+ attendances at both the Shelley games I attended to my visit to Turf Moor. The Bolton Wanderers (another founder member but sadly no longer at Burnden Park – I think I shall add visits to former ground sites for future seasons) vs Coventry game had a fabulous atmosphere, I really felt part of the crowd and was jumping up and cheering Bolton on. The primary reason for my support of The Trotters on the day was due to Bolton’s dire financial situation and their decision to play a team with an average age of 19 who absolutely ran their socks off and received a standing ovation from both sets of fans at the end. The Stalybridge Celtic vs FC United of Manchester game at Bower Fold, where they have played since 1906, was a Charity Day and so which boosted the attendance. In addition, it was a local derby and ‘Staly’ were also at home to a side who had spent some time as tenants at the ground and have a good away following, so all contributing on the day to a crowd three times the average home gate. I would also say that this was probably the best game I watched over the journey bar one.
Burnley v Chelsea programme cover
Of course it has to be Chelsea, but not just for Chelsea sake. Firstly, the company – one of my best friends who had stuck by me and helped me in my hour of greatest need and my gorgeous daughter. It was also a birthday treat from Frank and Michelle just before my birthday. Secondly, the history of the ground and the home team. Additionally, the seats were perfect, with a view just above pitch level and close to the action – it’s a very compact ground. It was to be the only Premier League game of the season I attended, although I think I have come to prefer lower league football, given that it is usually a much closer game and better matched quality wise than the higher leagues which are usually determined by money. However, at Turf Moor, the quality of the players on show, the athleticism and speed of the players was evident. It was a joy to marvel at the technical ability of the players and to have the opportunity to see a number of Chelsea’s new stars, and of course Pulisic stood out with his perfect hat trick. A game of six goals – Chelsea 4 – 0 up and cruising until their leaky 2019/20 defence managed to ship two late goals – an exciting game throughout. And lastly but not least, probably the best match programme of the journey.
So what of the season ahead? Well unsurprisingly, it all depends when they start letting fans into the grounds. I would attempt 51 games in 2020/21 but I can’t imagine at that stage that the season will start with fans, and I fear there is likely to be a second peak of the coronavirus or perhaps a mutation which will probably see us in lockdown again. Fingers crossed it does not hit over the winter during the periods of high influenza across the nation.
Badge of Loch Ness FC
However, if/once fans are allowed to return, I think I will concentrate on adding to my collection of Football League games as well as local midweek games in the local leagues. I have plans to visit friends and family in London again, so clubs such as Leyton Orient, Millwall, and grounds like the Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London Stadium, new Plough Lane and Brentford Community Stadium, all are on the list and of course if Clapham Rovers are at home Sunday league football, I would make a return trip. I also plan to visit friends in Devon so possible destinations include Torquay United, Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle and if I plan properly I might be able to catch a game on the way down and back on both trips. I also have a cousin who lives near the Bescott Stadium (home of Walsall), so I can get the opportunity to visit some Midlands clubs too. I also have two good friends in the village where I live – one a Manchester United fan and the other a Leeds United fan and we are planning a trip to the Highlands to take in a game at Loch Ness and Fort William, no doubt we will be able to find a Warrior games around the same time.
For now though, we will just see what happens.
I’ll leave you with the list of games that comprised my Incredible Journey:
A Friday night adventure with a visit to Blackpool to see the mighty Imps!
My links to Lincoln City go back to the ten years I lived there. My dad came out of the Air Force after being posted to RAF Scampton (about 6 miles from Lincoln), home of the Dambusters Squadron 617 and we stayed on in the area. My dad would take me to local games such as Nottingham Forest and we would make regular trips to London to see my nan, (my dad’s mum), but primarily Lincoln City who were languishing in the Fourth Division (what is now League Two). We used to stand on the old Sincil Bank terrace along the west side of the ground. When I got older, I used to go with school friends Rob and Julian. In 1972 along came Graham Taylor as manager. He won promotion for Lincoln in 1975/76 and moved to Watford – you all know his story from then.
Lincoln City 1975/76
However, that Lincoln team still lives on in my memory. Dennis Booth (a journeyman midfielder who came via Charlton, Blackpool and Southend), Ian Branfoot (best remembered for his managerial career with Reading, Southampton and Fulham), Terry Cooper (not the Leeds United one), Sam Ellis (former Sheffield Wednesday centre half), John Fleming, “Big Percy” Freeman, Peter Grotier (former West Ham keeper), Dick Krzywicki (as well as an answer to an old football question, former Huddersfield and West Brom winger and Welsh international), Dennis Leigh (a local lad via Doncaster and Rotherham), Phil Neale (the footballer/cricketer who played for Worcestershire CCC and also Scunthorpe United with Ian “Beefy” Botham), Dave Smith (long standing outside left – number 10), John Ward (a local lad and prolific goal-scorer better known for his managerial career where he took charge of nine clubs) and Tony Woodcock (on loan from Nottingham Forest before he became an England international, First Division winner and European Cup winner).
Matchday programme cover
It’s 70 miles to Blackpool, I’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and I’m wearing sunglasses…Hit it!! It’s all motorway from Huddersfield to Blackpool M62, M61 and M55, but it’s a Friday night and I have to go through Manchester at the tail end of the rush hour so I thought I would give it two hours, well…It was pissing down all the way, road works, traffic hold ups round the M62/M62 junction and when I hit the outskirts of Blackpool the traffic was backed up all the way along two miles of Yeadon Lane heading into Blackpool. Fortunately, I managed to find off-street parking close to the ground but had missed the first 25 minutes. I picked up my ticket from the club shop, which was closing, there no vendors left outside the ground, so no programme and I had to almost batter a door down to get a steward to let me in. I took my seat and the score was already 2 – 1 to Blackpool.
So what had I missed dear readers? Well, here is what the Blackpool FC website said about the opening of the game:
It was Lincoln’s on-loan Nottingham Forest forward Tyler Walker who had the first opportunity of the game, cutting inside and forcing a save out of Jak Alnwick. Minutes later, Blackpool opened the scoring. Sean Scannell, making his first league start since signing for the club, latched onto a cut-back from Liam Feeney and rifled the ball into the top corner. The Seasiders then had Alnwick to thank again for preserving the lead, as he scampered across goal to push away an 18-yard drive from Jack Payne. At the other end, Armand Gnanduillet was frustrated to nod over the bar when left unmarked from a Liam Feeney corner. Then came an individual bit of brilliance. Jordan Thompson picked up the ball off Feeney on the edge of the box, nutmegged his marker and curled the ball into the far corner to put Blackpool two goals up. The visitors weren’t affected by that goal though and quickly reduced the deficit. A cross into the box deflected into the path of Jack Payne, who blasted the ball into the net.
Match action
Once I had taken my seat, Blackpool were then forced to scramble the ball away when a Ben Heneghan clearance rebounded off Matty Virtue and presented a chance to Lincoln’s Payne. However, he was denied by ‘keeper Alnwick. Later the half the other real effort came via Lincoln’s Harry Toffolo whose cross just evaded Walker at the back post.
Into the second-half and in a lively opening, Blackpool nearly went 3-1 up when a Gnanduillet shot took a deflection and went just past the post. Lincoln responded with the Imps captain Jason Shackell having a real golden opportunity to level the game as from a free-kick he headed wide of the goal. The home side looked to change things up with a double substitution just after the hour mark, and it nearly gave Blackpool a third goal when Thompson had a great chance but was denied by a cracking save from John Vickers. The game became more cat and mouse as it entered the final quarter, but despite the efforts of the Imps, it was Blackpool who took the points with a 2-1 win.
Blackpool were to feature later in the season on my journey and ironically another incident involving the car…watch this space.
Friday 27 September 2019
Sky Bet League One
Blackpool 2 (Scannell 11’, Thompson 21’) Lincoln City 1 (Payne 24’)
The first thing to say about this book relates to the cover, where the phrase “…less is more…” rings true. The classically all white cover is interrupted only by claret and amber bands (depicting the Bradford City colours), details of the books title and a team picture from the 1969/70 season. On the reverse, a brief synopsis of the publication sits below two programme covers from the season and a view of the Valley Parade ground. The final detail relates to the fact that proceeds from the book are in Aid of the Bradford Cardiac Unit.
Once inside the book, the author explains in the “Dedication” and “Acknowledgement” the reason for this publication and how it came to fruition. “…The seed of an idea for this book was planted while recovering on a cardiac ward in a Bradford hospital. I decided that I wanted to say thank you in a more tangible form, to those who nursed me through a difficult time, and hopefully give something back in return…”
In the “Introduction” the reader is given a brief review of the 1969/70 season in terms of the White Rose County and its clubs and some snippets of what was happening in England at the time. The listing of the television viewing schedule from Christmas Day 1969 makes very interesting reading indeed!
So to the main body of the book, which is a diary based format of the 1969/70 season. The source of the information is match reports from the Yorkshire Post and the local papers of the Bantams opposition. The focus is on the City first team, although there are brief details about the reserves and other games that have a West Yorkshire interest. In addition to the match reports there are “Notes from the day” which include a round-up of the other fixtures in Division Three on that day and or more details and observations about the game Bradford were involved in. The reader will notice that the journalistic style is somewhat different to that of the sound-bite manner of today. The one-word headline to introduce a new paragraph is a format that has long since disappeared from sports reporting. For much of the season the Bantams were in and around the promotion spots, but no wins from their final eight games, left Bradford in tenth place. In the League Cup and FA Cup, City had decent runs, including a win at Roker Park against Sunderland, who just four years later won the FA Cup. The book closes with a “Who’s who of Bradford City’s personnel 1969/70” providing a useful summary of some of the key personalities from that season.
From a personal perspective I would have liked to have seen more match action pictures or programme covers to supplement the text. However, the lack of photographs from the respective fixtures may be down to the fact (as the author explains), “…many newspapers have disposed of their photographic archives and rely on scans taken from hard copy…”
It is a book that can be picked and put down and acts as a point of reference. It was interesting for instance to see three managers detailed in their playing days, those being Ian Branfoot (for Doncaster Rovers), Graham Taylor (for Lincoln City) and Neil Warnock (for Rotherham United). There are also various other gems in this book and a couple of my favourites are as follows:
Friday 23 January 1970
Mr John Parker, Labour MP, for Dagenham began an attempt at modifying the “Sunday Observance Laws” and so legalise the charging of admission prices at fixtures played on Sunday’s. It was an idea being closely watched by sporting bodies throughout the country, especially football being the biggest money-spinning sport.
The idea is said to have government approval and if all goes well by this time next year Football League clubs may well be playing League and Cup fixtures on a regular basis on Sundays.
In fact it was another four years before football was played on a Sunday, when on January 6th 1974 four FA Cup Third Round fixtures were played, the first being Cambridge United v Oldham Athletic which kicked off in the morning.
Later in April 1970 the following is an extract from the match report for the Walsall v Bradford City fixture:
Bradford goalkeeper, John Roberts was struck in the back by a full large-sized tin of soup (tomato flavour!) thrown from behind his goal just after the restart.
Whilst it may seem comical to read, it should be remembered that hooliganism was very much on the rise during this period and that there are a number of reports in the book which highlight trouble on the terraces and from fans travelling to and from games.
As a book I believe that it will appeal to City fans old and new, fans of other clubs who played against Bradford that season and indeed anyone who wants an insight into that period in English football. Share in Bradford City’s up and down return to Division Three, the glory of the Cup runs and revisit football and an England as the swinging sixties gave way to the seventies.
Lincolnshire has a long and proud footballing history. Its broad acres are home to dozens of clubs, from the Football League to local parks football. Come on a journey to discover those grounds and find out more about the county’s clubs, both present and past.
