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Testing times - Weekend Matchgoing Sept 18-20

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    Testing times - Weekend Matchgoing Sept 18-20

    I'm one of the "lucky" 1,000 to be allowed into Carlisle v Southend on Saturday, one of the ten Football League test events.

    It's going to be very different - it was already scheduled as a 1pm kick off even before they knew they could allow fans in. No food and drink available inside and the three of us can't sit together.

    This is also the first Carlisle home game since 2005* where it was touch and go whether I would get a ticket. Due to the ticketing arrangements I've had to have notifications switched on for the club's Twitter account to get early in the phone queue for when our stand went on sale - with plenty of false alarms including the announcement of the match officials and the club congratulating one of the players for impregnating his wife.

    *when we had to move a home game to Gretna due to the flood, a game which was subsequently postponed anyway.

    #2
    I'd already managed a blag to get myself into Charlton v Doncaster, before that was opened up as one of the test events. So my smugness at seeing Rovers play live has been tempered a little, but still excited about it. Was slightly worried I wouldn't get to see James Coppinger play in the flesh at all in his final season.

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      #3
      Very pleased for both of you. In the absence of any angles to blag in to or buy tickets for Wimbledon's opening league game at Loftus Road I'm still choosing matches to attend on a pretty random basis.

      If you think I'm pondering this one almost solely based on it being The Homophone Derby then...well, then you're damn right :

      Last edited by Ray de Galles; 17-09-2020, 14:53.

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        #4
        Going to Hull to complete the bottom division of the Northern Counties East by attending Hall Road Rangers v Barnton in the Vase.

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          #5
          Bought tickets for Fleet Spurs vs Jersey Bulls on Friday and Hastings United vs Cray Valley Paper Mills on Saturday. Looking forward to going to The Pilot Field.

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            #6
            I'm in Devon this week, so it'll be Ilfracombe v Portishead in the Vase. Only the 200 mile round-trip for the visitors.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Southport Zeb View Post
              Going to Hull to complete the bottom division of the Northern Counties East by attending Hall Road Rangers v Barnton in the Vase.
              Good job you're going to that rather than Hull v Crewe. That was due to be one of the test events with a few hundred fans in, but with the rising coco-pox rates in the area Hull City Council have now said they can't do it.

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                #8
                As I understand it Hull were only going to let 600 people into a 20000 capacity stadium anyway, which makes the decision ludicrous when 300 could turn up at Hall Road, or more likely North Ferriby and be far closer together.

                Anyway, fingers crossed I'm off to Retford v Lairds in the Vase. Nice to be able to support a team in the flesh again, should be a close game hopefully.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Forest Gump View Post
                  I'm in Devon this week, so it'll be Ilfracombe v Portishead in the Vase. Only the 200 mile round-trip for the visitors.
                  Sour times for them.

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                    #10
                    Rather than pay ?10 to watch MK Dons v City, I think i'll venture out to Corinthian Casuals v Haringey Borough. Feel bit guilty not seeing Borough last season, apart from the ill-fated Woking.

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                      #11
                      Tewkesbury Town Pumas U10s v Evesham United Robins U10s is the order of the day for me tomorrow. My first home game in charge, and I'm probably going to have to referee the game. I'm not looking forward to that.

                      My cousin's son (so my second cousin) has been called up to the Bishop's Cleeve first team for the first time having impressed for their U18s last night and is in the squad for their FA Vase game away at Chipping Sodbury Town. I'm tempted to get permission from my darling wife to attend, but I'm not hopeful of getting permission.

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                        #12
                        I'd forgotten I may double up tomorrow as Walton & Hersham's Vase tie against Meridian is an evening kick-off due to their co-tenants Walton Casuals having a home league game in the afternoon.

                        A Saturday 7:45pm kick-off always has a hint of glamour about it as does the fact that a revitalised Swans have scored nineteen goals and conceded none in their three home games so far - at least that's the angle I'll be using to try and tempt some of my local mates down.



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                          #13
                          Is there a good place to find fixtures (locally if possible)? I always end up giving up after trawling through league and cup websites.

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Simon G View Post
                            Tewkesbury Town Pumas U10s v Evesham United Robins U10s is the order of the day for me tomorrow. My first home game in charge, and I'm probably going to have to referee the game. I'm not looking forward to that.

                            My cousin's son (so my second cousin) has been called up to the Bishop's Cleeve first team for the first time having impressed for their U18s last night and is in the squad for their FA Vase game away at Chipping Sodbury Town. I'm tempted to get permission from my darling wife to attend, but I'm not hopeful of getting permission.
                            Surely you petition your wife that you're taking your u10 child (I'm presuming you're coaching at least one of your own) to an exciting knockout match as a reward for their own footballing endeavours and to support one of the family?

                            How can that kind of pitch possibly be knocked back?

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Capybara View Post
                              Is there a good place to find fixtures (locally if possible)? I always end up giving up after trawling through league and cup websites.
                              The Futbology app I screenshotted upthread is what you want. There is a small annual charge for the premium version with the fixture finder but it is absolutely invaluable.
                              Last edited by Ray de Galles; 18-09-2020, 11:16.

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                                #16
                                Thanks. Apps need smartphones, though.

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                                  #17
                                  Ah, OK. I may have a workaround, sent you a PM.

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                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by Ray de Galles View Post

                                    Surely you petition your wife that you're taking your u10 child (I'm presuming you're coaching at least one of your own) to an exciting knockout match as a reward for their own footballing endeavours and to support one of the family?

                                    How can that kind of pitch possibly be knocked back?
                                    As great a pitch as that is - she appears to have come down with tonsillitis and leaving her with the 3 year old twins (who I absolutely cannot take to a football match because I wouldn't be able to watch the game) seems a bit harsh. I'll see how she is in the morning and may make a late play - especially as she has me clearing out the garage on Sunday.

                                    The U10 also won't be interested in coming to Chipping Sodbury - it was his birthday the other day and his new Xbox and Phone are God at the moment.

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                                      #19
                                      Capybara Put this in the PM discussion but may as well repeat it here. Forgot you were in London and the excellellent London Football Guide will sort you out. The match maps and recommendations are excellent.

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                                        #20
                                        I can see that I'm going to have a bit of a dilemma until we get back to normal. Should I go to a local match on a Saturday afternoon or watch iFollow coverage of the Brentford game?

                                        This weekend, I'm choosing the latter but fortunately I'm in Kent again so I'm able to go to Kennington v Erith Town on Sunday KO 2pm.

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                                          #21
                                          I'm taking the kids to a park match tomorrow. Southwick were kicked out of their ground - which will be familiar to anyone who's ever got the train from Brighton to Portsmouth or Southampton as the football ground you can quite clearly see about ten minutes out from Brighton - earlier this year. The council have taken it back over and, with it now sitting derelict and overgrown, are now inviting applications for tenants.

                                          A new CIC has taken over the running of the club, but they've had to drop down even lower than they already were (and that was Division Two of the Southern Combination, I think) and are playing their first match on the local recreation ground tomorrow. They've been pushing it quite hard on social media, and I think the hope is that a strong show of support from local people will have some influence on the council.

                                          I lived in Southwick for a year about six years ago, and at that time I went to a match at Worthing. I got talking to some bloke and mentioned that I'd just moved from Brighton to Southwick, and when I mentioned the football club he said, "Ah well, Southwick has always been more of a drinking club than a football club." Turned out the people running the club for years were only really interested in its bar facilities and considered the football team itself to be little more than a means to an end, with the end being to keep the bar open.

                                          I'm kind of looking forward to it, and the open air lack of facilities should make social distancing easy enough.

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                                            #22
                                            Ah well, Southwick has always been more of a drinking club than a football club.
                                            I was told exactly the same (literally the identical phrase) about my local club, Molesey, when I moved to the area fifteen years ago.

                                            Nothing I've seen since has proved it inaccurate, culminating in a row between the player/manager Craig Lewington (Ray's son) and chairwoman/landlady three days before the start of this season which saw the former leave and most of the players following him.

                                            They've since played five league and cup games with an aggregate score against them of 27-2
                                            Last edited by Ray de Galles; 18-09-2020, 14:34.

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                                              #23
                                              I was thinking of wandering down to West Didsbury & Chorlton for Bury AFC's first competitive fixture in the Vase but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it's already a sell out. Instead I'll either be cycling to Cheadle Town to see them take on Athersley Recreation or driving to Oldham to see Avro host Bottesford Town.

                                              While I'm here could anyone offer some guidance on posting pictures. My first attempt failed as the file size was too large, my second failed as I'm "not allowed to upload files with the extension jpg." Thanks!

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                                                #24
                                                Untick the box under where you input the image's URL.

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                                                  #25
                                                  I'm not with you. I'm trying 'upload attachments', are you saying I should be uploading from URL, in which case what's the URL with a photo?

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