Groundhopping - A Tiddler’s Travels

Mr Lardiman,

 

I had forgotten Workington were a League side once...

 

Them, Hartlepool and Halifax must have amassed a few victories in applying for re-election down the years.

 

Atletico v Eibar, their penultimate home game before moving to the new stadium.

This was a fantastic ground.

 

Bohemians v Dukla, March 2017.

 

.

 

I think I have more pictures on my phone that you sent to me in March Elfs.

I'll download them onto my PC and see if I can upload some.
Did you go to any non-league games after 29th February? I assume you did...

 

The last game after that mate was Brentford v Wednesday on the 7th March.

 

It could be a long time before this thread gets used again!

 

Possibly true.

I will get round to loading the most recent pics you sent me onto my PC so I can post them here soon.

But when will the next round of non-league games be played?
My guess would be August or September at real grass-roots level, MAYBE.

There will have to be strict rules about the number of spectators. Something that would not have been a problem in the past, but if grass-roots football does start up again there will be a couple of million fans of league Clubs who'll be so desperate to go and watch live football again that they will come along to the tiny non-league grounds.
A team that normally plays in front of 50 people cannot allow a couple of thousand to try to get in to their ground (even if they could do with the gate money).
And the local Police in the areas around tiny football Clubs will have a severe headache.

 

FA Cup preliminaries are usually in late July, but I cannot see the cup games starting.

A friend of mine has seen that the Kent County League{level 10?} are hoping to start the beginning of September. However, what you are saying is a distinct possibility in that a game could attract a much larger crowd for fans to feed their hunger.

It is all very difficult.

 

It's difficult to see how football can re-start without too many people gathering at matches.

Even if football games at all levels began again at once, all the matches down to about tier 6 or 7 would have to be behind closed doors, so fans of those Clubs would either
A) gather outside their team's ground and have to be dispersed by Police
B) go along to the tiny grounds of lower tier teams and overcrowd their grounds.

Sadly, many football fans are unlikely to cooperate with requests/instructions to stay away from closed-door matches or tiny local grounds.
A large minority will just not listen or care enough about the risks.

Dispersing crowds of fans is going to be a massive problem for Police until we have a vaccine that everyone can take.
That might be as far away as August/September 2021.

 

Wait until you have the day Liverpool can win the title.

Liverpool will be carnage.

 

Workington v Clitheroe Saturday 29th February ... part 3

Some additional pics!



Better late than never...

 

Proper football, I wonder if non-league will come back before the professional game.

 

I think it will.
Perhaps not as widely advertised as the professional game, but quietly and sensibly (if gradually).

People will work out how to play it and watch it safely, even without a vaccine.
The desire to play the game is still strong at real grass-roots level I think. And common folk can figure things out for themselves given long enough, without having to wait for Governments or scientists.

I think there will be some kind of 'Sunday morning up the park' type football being played before the year is out.

 

Workington look as if they have a neat Little ground considering the level they ply their trade at. Is that the original ground done up, or did they relocate after they went into non league?
By the way, I admire your dedication to travelling so far to watch a game which you couldn't give a toss about the outcome. Must have been a few hours on the train there and back? I went up to Barrow to see Dartford play a couple of times, and it was a hell of a long trip, to one of the most delapidated towns I've ever been to. The football made it worth the visit (although not always).

 

It's their original ground mate, WELL worth the visit, but be careful to go before November and after March as they are prone to postponements.
Travelling distances for hops are never a problem, it's a day out and visiting a new town invariably. We left Euston at 8.30 and was in Workington by 1 with a change at Carlisle. We still had time to see the town whilst having a few stops!
For Barrow read Workington as a town, absolutely desperate.

 

Who can name this ground then?

 

Newcastle.