Sat March 22nd - Non-League Day
As it's an international weekend with no Premier League or Championship matches (+ a few others!), next Saturday (March 22nd) has been designated another "Non-League Day". Fans of teams without a fixture are encouraged to support local football for the day & help these grassroots clubs survive.
There are some very good matches within striking distance of the Chair Metropolis - so here's a few to whet your appetite (all 3pm):
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Maidenhead United v Rochdale
Wealdstone v Woking
NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH:
Slough Town v Enfield Town
SOUTHERN LGE DIV 1 CENTRAL:
Aylesbury United v Kidlington
(@ Chesham United FC)
Beaconsfield Town v Enfield FC
Berkhamsted v Real Bedford
Leverstock Grn v Kings Langley
COMBINED COUNTIES LEAGUE
PREMIER NORTH:
Egham Town v Virginia Water
COMBINED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER CHALLENGE CUP:
Risborough Rangers v Cobham
COMBINED COUNTIES DIV ONE:
Holmer Green v Eversley
SPARTAN STH MIDS LGE PREM:
Tring Athletic v Biggleswade Utd
As ever, if you go to one of these (or other games) please post a short match report on here about your game.
Comments
Please note there's a league match that might be pretty good next Tuesday night (25th) too which is very local to many WW fans:
Holmer Green v Windsor & Eton (7.45pm kick-off)
It's my daughter's birthday weekend otherwise I'd be tempted. Maidenhead v Rochdale has a lot riding on it at both ends of the table and should be an intriguing watch. Berko v Real Bedford is the battle of the top two in that league? Otherwise, obviously you should go and support 'Keith Scott's Holmer Green'.
Some options further afield.
Anyone know/interested in the history of how Non League Day started?
"Non-League Day was set up by James Doe in 2010 as a social media experiment, after being inspired by a pre-season trip to Devon to watch Queens Park Rangers play at Tavistock."
Match finder at https://nonleagueday.co.uk/
Scunthorpe have already sold 8,000 tickets for their game against Chester on Saturday - 6th tier!
That's pretty much it. Probably the only thing my local club (and the one I watch more than any other) is famous for.
Neil Warnock lives nearby (presumably a legacy of his time as Argyle manager) and always used to bring whatever team he managed that season down for a preseason tour of West Devon/East Cornwall including a match against Tavi. The revenue from those games played a significant part in Tavi's rise to Step 8.
Doe , a QPR supporter, so enjoyed the feel at Tavi that Non-League day began. As it happens I was at the game so plainly claim full personal credit.....
Warnock has a holiday home in West Looe but they don’t live there all the time.
I suspect he has a number of homes but I believe is main home is Stoke Climsland, just over the Cornish border. Don't know if he also has a place in Looe. Now involved at Torquay.
£21 to see Aldershot... wow
Well done to WWFC media dept for publicising this on Wycombe Wanderers social media.
£21 to watch Non-League football is simply too much. I don't care what the reasons are but it is simply over-priced.
Off to see Oxford City - they've made it £5 for everyone with a quid for under-16s. That's how to get people in.
Going to Maidenhead, also £5 for adults and free for U16s
Good value that
One of the main problems is the encouragement of National League clubs to be full time and silly campaigns like three up, three down. One up, one down please, non-league should be part time and reasonable attendance prices.
Not sure if that is tongue in cheek or not!
I'd like to see 4 up and down between League Two and National League, as well as The Championship to League One. I think it would give a lot more teams a lot more to play for and make the money flow a bit more across all the divisions. It would also be more interesting as if you didn't go up or down, you;d get 8 different teams to play each season.
I also think it might encourage more financial prudence in The Championship in the long term, as if you know you're at greater risk of going down and having a complete meltdown you might spend more wisely. I suspect, in reality tough, the opposite may well happen.
Not tongue in cheek at all.
One of the main problems at that level now is too many teams go up to what was once seen as the professional leagues. No way any National League side should be professional. There needs to be dividing line. The fact they are is ultimately damaging the whole pyramid and putting other clubs at risk of extinction as they try to compete. Two up, two down has damaged many once established league clubs. There should be one up, one down in my opinion and if they can’t be legally made to go semi pro at that level should be encouraged in some way and morally obliged to.
We will have to agree to disagree @Midlander
It comes down to running in a prudent manner, which arguably is now out of the window in the last 10 years, but clubs like us, Burton Albion, Stevenage, Barrow, Chesterfield have all benefitted from becoming league clubs.
I don’t disagree that there needs to be a cut off between Pro and Semi Pro but there are so many good clubs in National League and some awful ones in the football league. Just doesn’t seem right you get two up two down only.
however, it is ridiculous that the team in 7th gets into a play off. If anything this is driving the financial overspend in that division when there are only two spots up for grabs.
One up and one down seems hard to argue.
All it takes is a TV show mini Man City like Wrexham being around and noone else has any chance. And no playoffs so basically most of the league has very little interest in doing much bar standing still.
But 4 up 4 down sounds way too wild. And just catapults loads of long term historic clubs to oblivion, destined never to return to the league.
I'm going to Hanwell Town today, hopefully to see Ryan Cole, and Charlie Austin for AFC Totton. If you are going, remember that the ground is in the ULEZ zone. Check if your vehicle is subject to the £12.50 charge.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/
A few years ago I went to watch Stevenage v Canvey Island in the National League (or whatever it was then). Canvey won 4-1 or 4-2 & it was a brilliant game played by part-time players.
Since then the advent of full-time clubs has seriously damaged the National League. Clubs were clamouring to be included in the Football League Trophy. When 8 clubs were invited to play they started playing second-string sides because they didn't want to jeopardise their chances of promotion. They weren't invited again.
In a similar way, the FA Trophy has been seriously devalued as National League clubs mostly play weakened sides. The lure of the Football League has ruined the National League. For a good game the National League South or the National League North are the leagues to watch, although the latter has been plagued by crowd trouble this season.
700 odd at Oxford city - a few wanderers and a smattering of other clubs..
Josh Parker still at city
Hanwell Town 1-0 AFC Totton (HT 0-0, att 502).
The mid-table Geordies pulled off a surprise win over the Stags who, in second place, are trying to keep pace with leaders Merthyr Town. The entire first half was played in the rain, sometimes torrential with hail, and thunder reverberating and lightning bolts grounding all around. I don't know what the lightning protocol is for leaving the pitch, but this seemed like it met the criteria!
In the Totton ranks were seasoned pros Charlie Austin, Scott Rendell (in midfield) and Craig Tanner. The Chairboys connection continued with Hanwell, Ryan Cole playing as the forward CM, and Sam Beasant in goal. Big centre forward Alfie Pendlebury is the younger brother of Ollie. Elliot Benyon is also at the club, but not in this matchday squad.
The pitch was in excellent condition, well grassed and smooth, with little standing water but the weather made for a rather scrappy and frantic first half, with few openings. Austin had a goal ruled out for offside, Cole shot just wide after a neat one-two. After the break, with the rain stopped, the match continued it's even pattern, both teams with more time on the ball now, but Totton were looking increasingly dangerous in the box. Austin had another goal disallowed for offside and Beasant pulled off a great save, when Hanwell brought on Giovanni McGregor on 83', on his Hanwell debut after doing the rounds of non-league teams since leaving Crystal Palace. One minute later the 26 year old latched onto a Pendlebury through ball, easily out paced a defender and slotted home past the advancing keeper.
That win means the Geordies need five more points from their last six games, for their best ever pyramid finish, after winning promotion to step 3 Southern Premier South in 2022. The Stags are now nine points behind Merthyr, with a game in hand. Last season they finished second but lost in the play-off final to Salisbury. They clearly have money behind them, and are the best supported team in the division, averaging 1370. There were maybe less than a 100 of their fans at the match. The Geordies average 279 and the 502 crowd was the best of the season.
Ryan Cole had a good game, he is strong, reads the game well and delivers telling passes. He has an eye for goal, with two already and, from comments I heard, the locals like having him there.
Hanwell have been playing at the quirky Reynolds Field ground in Perivale since 1981. It's very easy to get to, being adjacent to the Perivale turning on the A40. Its interesting clubhouse looks like a converted house, where you can get the usual burger and chips (£4 each), and a pint for £5. On the opposite side is the famous double decker bus café on the terrace, serving Italian food like meat balls and lasagne for £6.50, ice creams too. You can eat and watch the game from the top deck.
Berkhamsted 0 Real Bedford 0
The clash between the top two clubs produced a disappointing game on a poor, bobbly pitch. Watched by a season's best crowd of 769 the competitive nature of the fixture negated good flowing football. Although Berkhamsted created the better chances Real Bedford could have nicked a win in injury time with a breakaway that ended with striker Setchell blasting wide when clean through.
Apologies if it’s already been asked (and answered) but I’m interested to know how Hanwell have come to be known as the Geordies.
‘Hanwell Town FC was founded in 1920 by a group of workers in the Hanwell area orignally from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The workers adopted the black and white stripes of Newcastle United and nicknamed themselves 'The Geordies'. Over 100 years later, the team still play in black and white.’
https://hanwelltown.com/about-us/#:~:text=Hanwell%20Town%20FC%20was%20founded,nicknamed%20themselves%20'The%20Geordies'.