Introducing Alex Irons
Non league, FA Cup and London Underground Football League content creator
Non League Football has been something that has been a part of my life from a very young age, my dad would still tell me that he was taking me to local football matches when I was only 6 months old, with a beaming smile across his face. Christian called his journey "unconventional”, with mine essentially being thrown into the deep end, being taken to small stands made of concrete on freezing cold nights to watch a number of non league clubs scattered across the small patch of West North West London that I grew up in. Outside of Non League, I grew up in a family of Fulham fans, which was more of a rarity in the 90s than it is now, barring the fact that my mum was a Chelsea fan, so my wardrobe was strewn with a mix of blue, yellow, white and black. That was a battle that my dad ended up winning with me and my brothers all supporting the white and black side of SW6, although with hindsight, I may have had a happier time in life supporting the blue side, so thanks dad!
My love for non league football was solidified at around the age of 14. Word had gotten around that a Bravo TV show was filming a local reserve team game, I believe the show was called “Man’s Work” and the host was the assistant manager of Slough Town reserves for a week (I think), and during that week, Slough Town reserves were around the corner from my childhood home, playing at the home of Harrow Borough. Me and a friend of mine were 2 of around 50 people in attendance, with both of us wanting to be on TV more than we were there to enjoy the quality of the football on show. Since then, a club that had been an occasional part of my childhood had bloomed into my teenage years like a childhood love. Attending as many home games as I could, and over the years I was privileged to watch the blossoming career of then future QPR favourite Albert Adomah, who started his career in Harrow Borough red, making his early appearances alongside Steve Claridge. If you don’t believe me, watch this video from the 2:40 mark onwards, where Steve set Albert up for his first ever goal at the Boro (I believe).
Albert Adomah - Harrow Borough Legend; Rising Star At Barnet
I also enjoy looking back on the run of the 2009-10 season, after spending many years previously fighting against relegation (re prieve have now become my two favourite words in the english language because of this) a Harrow side managed by David Howell, reached the 1st round ‘proper’ of the FA Cup, losing 2-0 at home to then League 1 leaders Chesterfield. Harrow should have been awarded a penalty early on for a foul on Harrow winger Kenta Nakashima and I will die on that hill. In the same season, the reds had reached the Isthmian Premier League Playoffs, and 18 year old me and a handful of friends, travelled down to Tonbridge as the Boro played the Angels in what was the biggest game of the season. Harrow lost 3-2 in extra time, after bringing the game level at 2-2 after going 2-0 down inside the first half. Despite the loss, the memories of that night live forever. Especially as we missed our last train back to London, and my mum had to drive down to Tonbridge to pick us up.
TONBRIDGE ANGELS VS HARROW BOROUGH - RYMAN PREMIER SEMI FINAL
So why am I writing all of this? And what does this have to do with anything? Am I rambling already? Yeah, probably. At the beginning of 2024, I thought it might be a good idea to start making videos on football across London, with these videos going up on TikTok and on Instagram. I went behind enemy lines to Loftus Road to film the first ever video, named “I’m visiting a football club in every London Borough”; and although I didn’t expect much to happen at first, since that first video was uploaded, the channel across those 2 platforms have been seen around 2.5 million times.
The video that started it all: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdaov1Wv/
The channel grew from there and last season, I started following the FA Cup from the extra preliminary round all the way to the final, a series that I eventually titled “FA Cup Glory Hunter”, starting all the way from Vale Farm, the home of Wembley FC in early August, to just 1.5 miles up the road to the national stadium, Wembley Stadium via Chertsey, Blackpool, Birmingham, Newcastle and Brighton.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, but you could also do with some London Transport themed football, I also cover the London Underground Football League (yes, that exists!) and as of this season, I will be covering every single league and cup game as the competition enters it’s 29th season. Last season saw one of the most exciting years in the competition’s history, as a 3 horse race in the top division was decided on the final day, as Overground, Northern and Victoria were vying for the top spot.
Overground pipped all 3 to their first ever title, beating Northern 4-3, scoring all 4 of their goals in the last 20 minutes of the game, after Northern had raced into a comfortable 3 goal lead. At the other end of the table, it was also the final game that decided who would be relegated down to Division 2, with Elizabeth Line needing a win against last season’s league winners Piccadilly, who had won 5 of the last 6 league titles. Elizabeth Line secured their place in division 1 with a 6-0 drubbing of last year’s champions to leapfrog them by a single point. Those 4 sides will be joined by Jubilee and Hammersmith & Circle who were both promoted from Division 2, while Piccadilly and a brand new side coming into the competition for the first time, make up Division 2 alongside British Transport Police, Waterloo & City, Docklands Light Railway and last season’s debutants Real Metropolitano.
If you want to watch any of these videos and any of the new videos that will be coming out from the beginning of the new football season, you can find them by clicking on the links below.
Tiktok
Instagram
Youtube
