With league football being a bit soulless at times, I thought I'd ask - what are some of your favourite non-league clubs and why? If you are in Bucks and choose one of the usual suspects, is there a non-Bucks team you also like or warm to?
Hmm, not sure really. I've got quite a few I don't mind and sort of like, but can't say that any of them are a favourite. I've always, since about the age of 13/14 just been Wycombe through and through and there was no other team.
For me it's St. Albans, having been born there and seeing a couple of games growing up, though it is really not much more than keeping track of their results to see how they are getting on.
Brockenhurst FC.... for no other reason other than a very fond memory of a family camping holiday in The New Forest many moons ago when I was around 16 or 17. The ground was 5 or 10 mins walk from our campsite. On a previous outing I had noticed them advertising the next scheduled home match was the next day or day after.
I dragged my step brother along to go and watch the match with me. He is a year younger than me.
I can't remember the game.... or the score... but I remember it was a fiver each to get in.... and we paid £1.50 each for the best burger I have ever had!!!
The icing on the cake was wandering into the clubhouse at half time (egged on by my step brother) and akwardly asking the elderly lady (or at least at that time I considered her elderly...) for 2 pints of larger. She seemed so kindly and a sort of nan type.
She looked at me knowingly.... I could feel myself going red... then proceeded to pour me my order and handed them over with a cheeky wink.
For this alone... Brockenhurst FC will always have a piece of my heart.
Most home games you will find me at Tavistock Town in the Southern League (step 8). Often it ain’t pretty but gives me a reason to stand in the rain in a field for a couple of hours…..
I’ve always had a soft spot for St Albans. It was my first away match under lights - I think we won 3-0 a couple of weeks after winning 7-0 at home. Clarence Road was such a picturesque ground.
These days it’s probably Rossington Main FC as I go there a few times a year, but can’t say I’ve really caught the bug yet, other than a vague ‘hope they win’ type feeling.
Never really got attached to a non league club but been to plenty of games.
I like going to watch my mates play or manage so it adds a bit of interest to the game for me. I've seen Maghull FC a few times this season, Ashton Town a few seasons back.
I really enjoy the Sunday league football around here, standard is really good, with a lot of the players getting paid on a Saturday to play but have a kick about with their mates on a Sunday. Few ex pros too. However since starting to run girls u7 & u9 teams on a Saturday and Sunday morning this season it's been hard to get to.
Oxford City and Kidlington (Southern League Division 1 South - for now), simply because they're my two most local clubs and I go and watch them both as often as possible; neither having particularly good seasons.
Further afield, Fort William, now playing in the North Caledonian League after years of finishing bottom of the Highland League, often with record low points totals and goals against figures well into three figures. Seems the rest of the Highland League, mostly based in Aberdeenshire, got tired of having to drive over to the west coast and voted them out on ground suitability. Made a pilgrimage up there a few years, just before they became a bit of a cause celebre for groundhoppers and you couldn't find a more welcoming club. The ground itself is an untidy shambles but the views are spectacular.
When I was a kid, Wealdstone was the only half-decent side nearby that I was allowed to go to (not sure my mum ever found out about my tube trips across London with a mate to Watch West Ham at the Boleyn Ground). I watched the Stones at Lower Mead until I went to uni, even travelling down very early in the morning from Manchester for their 1985 FA Trophy win.
Living near Aylesbury in the late '80s, I watched Aylesbury United's only season in the Conference in 88-89 and was there for their 0-7 reversal to England (though being vertically challenged, saw very little!).
These days I see a fair bit of Oxford City as they're local to me. After a rotten 2024, they hover just above the National League North trap-door. While it's a daft league for an Oxford side to be in, I hope they maintain their place this year.
I wander around the local clubs each season and don’t really have a favourite.
Chalfont was the first non-league ground I visited to watch a senior men’s game, back in 2002. Scott Davies’ dad, Kevin, was part of a side that lost 3-0 to Hemel in an FAC qualifying round fixture. I admired the work done by Danny Edwards to get the Saints to Step 4, while nurturing talents that would later play in the EFL, such as Jerome Okimo and Charlie Strutton (RIP). It’s sad that they can only muster 30-40 fans these days and have always struggled for support.
Otherwise, I have a soft spot for Holmer Green as my son plays for the juniors and I’ve been to see the first team a few times. There’s also now the Keith Scott connection. It’s a great community club and like Penn, you get the lovely transition to the cricket season in the summer, as well as a wider offering of sports.
Flackwell is another good day out and feels like a ‘proper’ non-league experience in terms of size of fan base and atmosphere. Chesham is also great in that regard.
Ultimately, while WWFC is definitely top of the county food chain, I wish for all our local sides to be successful and hope we continue to develop mutually beneficial partnerships at grassroots level. The area is a hotbed for scouts from near and far and I want talented youngsters to be with us! Some of my son’s team are training/playing for WWFC teams but other local children I know of get poached by the likes of Oxford United and even Oxford City. Keep ‘em away!
Yes, incredibly sad at just 34-years-old. I remember watching him score (the winner?) in a famous Chalfont league win against Slough in 2012/13ish. He was a real throwback striker, powerful and explosive, with a real eye for goal.
Comments
Hmm, not sure really. I've got quite a few I don't mind and sort of like, but can't say that any of them are a favourite. I've always, since about the age of 13/14 just been Wycombe through and through and there was no other team.
Burnham because i lived there for many years and Maidenhead as it was only 3 miles from where i lived.
For me it's St. Albans, having been born there and seeing a couple of games growing up, though it is really not much more than keeping track of their results to see how they are getting on.
I'm in St Albans right now!
Small world! If you see the abbey tower, wave - one of the bricks is named for my wife! 😁(How romantic, though she loved it in the end).
Margate FC, because they were my local club growing up
Brockenhurst FC.... for no other reason other than a very fond memory of a family camping holiday in The New Forest many moons ago when I was around 16 or 17. The ground was 5 or 10 mins walk from our campsite. On a previous outing I had noticed them advertising the next scheduled home match was the next day or day after.
I dragged my step brother along to go and watch the match with me. He is a year younger than me.
I can't remember the game.... or the score... but I remember it was a fiver each to get in.... and we paid £1.50 each for the best burger I have ever had!!!
The icing on the cake was wandering into the clubhouse at half time (egged on by my step brother) and akwardly asking the elderly lady (or at least at that time I considered her elderly...) for 2 pints of larger. She seemed so kindly and a sort of nan type.
She looked at me knowingly.... I could feel myself going red... then proceeded to pour me my order and handed them over with a cheeky wink.
For this alone... Brockenhurst FC will always have a piece of my heart.
Oxford or Luton for me
I’ve been to Wealdstone as a neutral a few times and have really enjoyed the games and the welcome atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Watch Winchester a fair bit as have good mates who watch them, friendly club.
Brother in law plays for Slough so seen them a few times, can't bring myself to like the club though!
Ground wise always liked visiting Aldershot.
Chesham
Oxford City
Most home games you will find me at Tavistock Town in the Southern League (step 8). Often it ain’t pretty but gives me a reason to stand in the rain in a field for a couple of hours…..
Haringey Boro.
Wycombe in about 3 years.
Great story and beautiful part of the world, went when we played Bournemouth a few years back , top notch pubs abound.
This is tricky, so many of those clubs near where I grew up have fallen or played groundswap in the years since.
I do enjoy our pre-season trips to Wealdstone each year although the cup game showed it isn't really up to big crowds.
Barnet pretty good if not a throwback, mostly as we always seem to beat them.
I’ve always had a soft spot for St Albans. It was my first away match under lights - I think we won 3-0 a couple of weeks after winning 7-0 at home. Clarence Road was such a picturesque ground.
These days it’s probably Rossington Main FC as I go there a few times a year, but can’t say I’ve really caught the bug yet, other than a vague ‘hope they win’ type feeling.
Never really got attached to a non league club but been to plenty of games.
I like going to watch my mates play or manage so it adds a bit of interest to the game for me. I've seen Maghull FC a few times this season, Ashton Town a few seasons back.
I really enjoy the Sunday league football around here, standard is really good, with a lot of the players getting paid on a Saturday to play but have a kick about with their mates on a Sunday. Few ex pros too. However since starting to run girls u7 & u9 teams on a Saturday and Sunday morning this season it's been hard to get to.
Oxford City and Kidlington (Southern League Division 1 South - for now), simply because they're my two most local clubs and I go and watch them both as often as possible; neither having particularly good seasons.
Further afield, Fort William, now playing in the North Caledonian League after years of finishing bottom of the Highland League, often with record low points totals and goals against figures well into three figures. Seems the rest of the Highland League, mostly based in Aberdeenshire, got tired of having to drive over to the west coast and voted them out on ground suitability. Made a pilgrimage up there a few years, just before they became a bit of a cause celebre for groundhoppers and you couldn't find a more welcoming club. The ground itself is an untidy shambles but the views are spectacular.
When I was a kid, Wealdstone was the only half-decent side nearby that I was allowed to go to (not sure my mum ever found out about my tube trips across London with a mate to Watch West Ham at the Boleyn Ground). I watched the Stones at Lower Mead until I went to uni, even travelling down very early in the morning from Manchester for their 1985 FA Trophy win.
Living near Aylesbury in the late '80s, I watched Aylesbury United's only season in the Conference in 88-89 and was there for their 0-7 reversal to England (though being vertically challenged, saw very little!).
These days I see a fair bit of Oxford City as they're local to me. After a rotten 2024, they hover just above the National League North trap-door. While it's a daft league for an Oxford side to be in, I hope they maintain their place this year.
Blimey, my grandparents some years ago lived in Tickhill, just the other side of the A1M.
Thats a long drive down to AP!
I let the train take the strain (when there aren’t strikes or engineering work…)
I wander around the local clubs each season and don’t really have a favourite.
Chalfont was the first non-league ground I visited to watch a senior men’s game, back in 2002. Scott Davies’ dad, Kevin, was part of a side that lost 3-0 to Hemel in an FAC qualifying round fixture. I admired the work done by Danny Edwards to get the Saints to Step 4, while nurturing talents that would later play in the EFL, such as Jerome Okimo and Charlie Strutton (RIP). It’s sad that they can only muster 30-40 fans these days and have always struggled for support.
Otherwise, I have a soft spot for Holmer Green as my son plays for the juniors and I’ve been to see the first team a few times. There’s also now the Keith Scott connection. It’s a great community club and like Penn, you get the lovely transition to the cricket season in the summer, as well as a wider offering of sports.
Flackwell is another good day out and feels like a ‘proper’ non-league experience in terms of size of fan base and atmosphere. Chesham is also great in that regard.
Ultimately, while WWFC is definitely top of the county food chain, I wish for all our local sides to be successful and hope we continue to develop mutually beneficial partnerships at grassroots level. The area is a hotbed for scouts from near and far and I want talented youngsters to be with us! Some of my son’s team are training/playing for WWFC teams but other local children I know of get poached by the likes of Oxford United and even Oxford City. Keep ‘em away!
Bloody hell, the news that Charlie Strutton had passed away had somehow passed me by.
How incredibly sad
Yes, incredibly sad at just 34-years-old. I remember watching him score (the winner?) in a famous Chalfont league win against Slough in 2012/13ish. He was a real throwback striker, powerful and explosive, with a real eye for goal.