So what’s this all about then? Whilst recently on holiday in Norfolk in a beautiful little coastal town called Wells-Next-the-Sea (weird name, I know), I found that I had some spare time to think, which my wife would probably tell you is a dangerous thing for me to do. Most of my thinking time was spent while going for early morning runs; I’m just trying to get a head start on all the pies, burgers, and pints I’ll be consuming this coming football season. On my first run, I came across a football ground owned by Wells Town FC in a lovely setting right by the sea.
As an avid Groundhopper, the first thing I did was stupidly check whether there were any games on whilst we were in town, which I could drag my long suffering wife to. Alas, no luck, with it being the middle of June, pre season hadn’t even started yet. It really is the toughest month of the year, right? FIFA should really invent some soulless money making tournament to fill the void during this period. Despite the lack of football happening at Wells Town, it did get me excited for the coming football season, and a new plan started to form in my head. Uh oh, I don’t know how this is going to be possible, but more of my time is about to be taken up by football!
A plan is forming in my mind
So, I’m guessing, as you are very kindly reading this, that you have taken an educated guess that the plan forming in my mind was to start a football publication. I have always loved going to football matches, it’s my favourite pastime. My Dad got me into it from a very young age. Being from South London, I think he took me to every club in the local area, and for some reason, I stuck with Charlton Athletic. It was probably because the first game we attended, we beat West Ham 4-0 and in the Premier League, no less. Turns out that may have been a bit of a false dawn. As well as going to lots of Charlton games, my Dad also introduced me to what I believe to be the holy grail of football, Non-League.
Now me and my Dad are absolute suckers for a funny moment and at the first Non-League game we went to Bromley were in a cup final (I think it was a play off final). During the game, there was an old boy behind us who was miserable the entire game, shouting abuse at the players, the referee, and generally just being a bit of a grump. Bromley scored right at the end of the game to win the match, and when the final whistle went, the fans were straight on the pitch. This prompted Grumple Stiltskins to exclaim loudly and jovially, “SCENES LIKE THIS HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!!!!” He then shuffled past us onto the pitch with the rest of the fans. My Dad and I were rolling around, and still to this day, moments of celebration shared between us are usually followed by that wonderful phrase.
Since that moment, I have been hooked on Non-League. I love the grounds, the smell of the burgers, being able to drink a beer in the stands (or standing behind a rope line), and football being played by everyday people who are doing it mainly for the love of the game.
If going to football matches is my first passion, then reading about it is my second. I love trawling the internet for football stories, whether that be transfer news, interviews, or the state of football finance. You name it, if it’s about football, then I’ll read it. I had just finished reading an article about Charlton Athletic’s potential transfer business this summer before I went for my run, and I think that, mixed with the lovely setting of Wells Town, got me thinking and planning how I could write about my own experiences in football.
Groundhopper Weekly
The plan I formulated in my mind was to create a Substack publication, which will be a weekly (we’ll do our best) platform dedicated to Groundhoppers; it’ll be a space for us to discuss the games and grounds we attend. There will also probably be a few opinion pieces, and if this gets big enough, I would love to do some interviews with characters from the game, especially in the Non-League scene.
Now, because I’m new to this and don’t go to anywhere near enough football games to produce a weekly article. I have invited a couple of friends to help out with the weekly content.
I will let them properly introduce themselves in their introduction articles over the next couple of weeks. However, I will do a couple of quick introductions now. They are Alex & Christian. Alex manages several popular social media accounts where he documents his experiences when attending football matches. Christian has a website called Through the Turnstiles of Non League Football and a hard print football magazine called Parks to Pitches, which have both been hugely successful.
The content that Christian & Alex put out is a real pillar of the Non-League and groundhopping online scene, and they were a big inspiration for me to give this Substack a go, so it’s a real coup to get them on board, and I’m so thankful and happy that they are on board. I’m eager to see what they produce.
All that’s left to say is thank you for reading this all the way to the end. I hope you continue reading and enjoying our articles here on Groundhopper Weekly. Please do consider subscribing so you don’t miss any of the action.
Love the look of this and hope it takes off. As a Vale season ticket holder holder I have seen plenty of ups and downs but have never watched a non league team, even plans and intentions to watch vales preseason friendly matches against Kidsgrove and Newcastle town go pear shaped each year. Good luck, you might inspire me to get to one myself.
Really looking forward to this 🙌🏻