Last minute... again..

Southend v Gillingham- Last Friday

Considering it was a Friday night, Gills took a pretty decent following down to Roots Hall. It'd been a nice day but by kick off I was glad I had a shirt, a jumper and a gills shirt from 2004 layered under my coat. The whole week i'd been struggeling with a muscle pull down my left hand side and on that particular night it was afecting my left arm which should have meant clapping and making 'obscene' hand gestures was out of the question. It didn't, and I paid for it the morning after.

The first 10 minutes were back and forth and either side could have found themselves one or two infront. However, for the rest of the half, Southend dominated and we held our breath on many occasions, whilst Royce and the boys in Yellow constantly threw themselves infront of anything in the box. 0-0 at half time definately seemed like a good score, with the team shooting our way in the 2nd fourty five.

This time, Gills had the better of it. An indirect free kick on the 6 yard line was our best opportunity to break the deadlock but Mark Bentley somehow managed to put it further over the top than we in the stand behind thought humanly possible. And we were made to pay...
In the 92nd minute, a break away down Southend's left found the ball at Lee Barnards feet . He held the defender off well and turned to poke the ball into an empty net. Heartbreak. And not for the first time. I've lost count of the amount of times Gills have lost or thrown away 3 points in the dying seconds, but here's another to chalk up. The final whistle blew moments later and the faithful trudged silently and thoughtfully towards the exits.

It did make me realise how much i've missed watching them, even if nothing else. You can get incredibly emotionally involved with a club and the result that night set the tone for the whole weekend. But I wouldn't change that. If we'd won i'd have watched the results from other teams in the division on Soccer Saturday with much more vigour and interest, the mrs would have been given a much easier time and i'd probably have shelled out for a cup ticket at Priestfield this coming weekend and cancelled the plans the better half had put in place many weeks ago. But I still wouldn't change it. It's what makes the life as a football fan as much of a roller coaster ride of emotions as it is.

I booked tickets today to watch Fulham at Craven Cottage for the first time on December 3rd, two days after my debut visit to the Matchroom Stadium, Leyton Orient. Gillingham's visit on the 1st will provide the perfect opportunity to drop in at Great Ormond Street and hand over the donations and memorabilia we collected on our tour.

Visiting the 92 grounds to see games is now very much on the agenda. Two new in December, another on Boxing day and at least two more in the last few months of the season.

Thoughts and Plans and 2nd thoughts...

The plan has always been to turn www.tothe92.co.uk into a football stadium guide website after the tour was over and people had taken the opportunity to look at our reviews and photos from our 12 days away. I've started making a list of bits and pieces that'll be needed in order to make the site competitive with other guides available on the web. The informative footballgroundguide.com by Duncan Adams is far and away the best currently in circulation and the only two things I think could be improved on his site is the amount of content and how it looks to the viewer. There's far more content than is needed although some people will certainly find it interesting, as an away day hand book, there's more than is required. Visually, I think it's as basic a site as you can get which does the job but, to a web designer like myself, it would be very simple to make it much more aesthetically pleasing. Those two minor points aside, I cant begin to compete with the marvel that Duncan has created.

What I would like to do is gather together a list of bits that fans, both home and away, would like to see and would find useful to look at when they're planning a trip to their next stadium. I've thought of things like directions, pubs and bars, the food at the stadiums, car parking, a map of the area, the stands at the stadium, where the away fans sit, where the noisiest fans sit, things to see, things to avoid and i'm sure there's other bits that i've missed..

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts please let me know and i'll do my best to include them.

My Theatre of Hope....

Following on from my last post about the gulf in differences between the teams at the top of the Premier League and those in the divisions below, I thought i'd write a piece about the ever changing picture of the modern football stadium.

I make no apologies for saying that I love my teams football ground, Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium. In no way do I claim it to be or make it out to be the most aesthetically pleasing stadium to the naked eye, but having visited all other league grounds over the past few months it made me realise how much I appreciate having the chance to walk through a fairly run down high street, after a health conscious fry up for lunch, knowing that by the time I reach the train station at the top of town i'll be able to see the floodlights towering above the stadium, guiding the way down two or three short residential streets. It doesn't sound glamorous and it isn't but why would you want it to be? A dodgy parking space, greasy spoon bacon and eggs, a pint with no bubbles, your team winning 2-1 after trailing at half time and James Alexander Gordon on 5 live sports report filling you in with the days other results whilst you drive home. That's what football's all about isn't it?

Dont get me wrong, some new builds are essential due the lack of expansion space or cost of re-developing the old stadium, so not all teams can stay in their spiritual homes. But the need for teams like Darlington to build a 25,000 all seater, completely soulless and pointless leisure centre with a council restriction on the capacity for the club reduced to 10,000 seems little short of crazy. There's no history at the stadium and barely any association with the club it's meant to be benefiting and that's before going inside and witnessing the non existant atmosphere. It must be soul destroying for any fan of that club to see how much their new stadium has taken away when it had promised to be so advantageous. The sound of ticket tearing at the turnstiles is replaced by a small human version of the Dartford toll. Enter your ticket or card, wait for the green light and proceed through the barrier. The sight of four floodlight pylons is exchanged for a hundred of those B&Q spotlights that often illuminate your neighbour’s back garden. The list really could go on.

A few years ago now, a national newspaper published a story revealing the worst grounds in the English football league. Even in 2004, with a set of terracing behind the town end goal and away toilet facilities reminiscent to the bucket and spade method found at some coach stops in France, I could have reeled off a list of at least 20 other teams situated in worse areas, with worse facilities and a worse stadium. The outrageous article went on to add that "Gillingham was the biggest dump in English football” and that it made “Middlesbrough look like Monte Carlo”. However, in the last 10 years Gills have won 115 of their 230 home league games. Quite impressive considering we've had two relegations in that period. Infact, with only 66 defeats in that time it suggests that a trip to Gillingham isn’t every visiting side’s highlight of the year and in this respect the club holds a great advantage. With our away form as patchy as a Sunday League goalmouth in winter, our home form is crucial to our survival.

What a contrast this Saturday will provide. With talks of a sell out for the game with Charlton Athletic, Priestfield could see its biggest league crowd since in excess of 11,400 watched us beat West Ham 2-0 in 2003. It really doesn't seem like 6 years have passed since our nosebleed years in the second tier or 5 years since I watched Sunderland visit and take the 3 points away with a 4-0 demolition job making us look stupid in the process. So much has happened since then. A successful relegation battle, two unsuccessful ones followed by a first promotion in 10 years... It's been hard to keep up with the ever exciting life as a Gill.

Noise and atmosphere might not be Priestfield’s strongest points, but it ouzes character and history and makes for a more exciting prospect than a visit to any new, characterless bowl. Teams and players alike want to get in and get out as quickly as possible leading to sides such as Aston Villa, at full strength, in last seasons FA Cup struggling to perform and only scraping through with a dodgy last minute penalty. With ideas of a new stadium being pushed firmly to the back of the filing cabinet, let’s hope Charlton and every other away team don’t fancy the prospect of playing in ME7 this season.

After all, it might just be the difference between which side of the dotted line we finish come May.

All about who's got the biggest....

Having watched the game between Chelsea and Athletico Madrid this evening it got me thinking about how huge the gap is between the teams at the top of the Premier League and those in the 3 divisions below. Infact, the gap to the likes of Hull City at the bottom of the same division is still pretty huge, but nothing compared to a team like Gillingham.

Having read and researched about many of the teams in the 92 over the past few months i've learnt a lot about the changes in the game. As an example, Manchester United were relegated in 1973 and despite the fact that they bounced back the very next season, relegation these days is completely unthinkable.

Money is obviously the be all and end all for all teams. In some cases, it buys trophies and success, in others it helps to keep success coming their way. When I visited Accrington Stanley recently as part of the 92 ground tour, it was obvious how desperate they were to raise money desperately needed to help them survive. We parked in a car park outside the stadium and all proceeds raised were being put towards buying the groundsman a new lawn mower. It's a sorry situation but one that was amazing to be a part of even if only for a couple of hours. Whilst sitting in the reception area a guy walked in, handed over £1000 in cash and walked straight back out. Fans, club staff and even players wives were helping with the fundraising showing just how alive club loyalty is. In the wake of the ITV digital disaster, I remember similar tasks being undertaken at many of the football league clubs including Gillingham.

I've looked at records from days past of clubs reaching cup finals despite being in the third tier of the game. Those days are long gone.

What can change this pattern from forming and becoming more and more friendly everyday for the teams with rich foreign investors? For me, capping wages would be a start. The talk of bringing in a rule on how many English players you need to have in your side would be good for the national game but i'm not a believer of it ever being fully implemented.

As a fan of a team that would be punching well above their weight if they made it back into the Championship again let alone the Premiership, I look for any small rays of hope that are possible. Staying in League One would be considered a success for me this season but I dont only ever want to watch lower league football with my team. So what do I hope for.. A cash friendly Gills fan thats been hiding under a rock for the past 20 years or all the capping they can implement hopefully one day bringing the four divisions back together.

At the moment the top 5 will just keep getting bigger and stronger and the only interesting talking point is going to be which of the 5 wont make the Champions League qualification spots.. Where's the fun in that? And more to the point, where's the hope of any team like mine ever being anything other than an also-ran. If that in Gills case.

Reviewing my Predictions at the 2 month stage....

Apologies for the lack of bloggin in recent times. Since returning from the tour, i've spent every spare moment updating and uploading bits to the tour website. All photos are edited and online now. The Ted on Tour section is complete and approximately 30 of the 92 teams have been finished along with the description, parking availability, stadium reviews and ratings. Please have a look and let me know what you think. http://www.tothe92.co.uk Just remember it's a working progress still!

I've had a quick look back through my predictions made before the opening day of the season and decided to see how they were doing.

Below are my original predictions along with the current positions..

Premier League

Winners - Chelsea
Not looking bad at the moment. Top by a couple of points. 10/10

Runners-Up - Man Utd
Looking good. Traded places with Chelsea over the past few weeks but currently sitting in 2nd. 10/10

Relegation - Burnley, Portsmouth and Hull City
Well Portsmouth are struggling both on and off the field which suggests that this was a good prediction. Hull City aren't pulling up any trees either, but Burnley are leading the way for the so called lesser teams in the division this year. However, they currently sit 9th after a very good start, but how many people expect this to last? Remember Hull's collapse last year? 8/10

Championship
Winner - Newcastle United
Currently atop the table and playing some very good football 10/10

Runners-Up - West Brom
Also playing some good stuff, trailing the Toon by 3 points in second place. 10/10

Play Off Winners - Derby County
One of my less predictable predictions here. And it's proving to be just that. Derby sit in 17th at present but I fully expect a good push after Christmas. Nigel Clough won't accept his team playing this poorly for the rest of the season. Be interesting to see if any money is thrown at the situation in January.

Relegation - Scunthorpe, Blackpool and Barnsley
Blackpool sit just 1 point from the play-offs and have played some very exciting football this year. They'll need a good Winter period in my mind to stop a rot from setting in during the new year. Scunthorpe and Barnsley sit 1 point outside the relegation zone at the moment so they're close, but not in. 5/10

League One
Winners - Leeds United
Very very strong this season. I couldn't see anyone else taking the title from Leeds this year and still cant. 10/10

Runners-Up - Charlton Athletic
Expected them to be close to Leeds and they're closer than I thought. 2 points behind and having played a game more suggests they'll struggle to catch the runaway train from Elland Road. 10/10

Play Off Winners - Southampton
Ok, so this ones looking unlikely. Having said that, they've won their last 2 games quite convincingly and if they continue in that vain of form then you never know. 3/10

Relegation - Swindon, Brighton, Exeter and Stockport
Brighton are my only prediction actually in the bottom 4 at present. However, Southampton are still in there and wont be soon, Tranmere have finally gotten rid of John Barnes and will soon start to progress up the league whilst Stockport and Swindon in my mind are punching well above their weight. I think when i do another update in January, things might have a distinctly different complexion.

League Two
Winners - Notts County
Not firing on all cylinders as yet. But they're not really losing ground either. I expect a strong push after Christmas culminating in the title going to Meadow Lane. 6/10

Runners-Up - Lincoln City
Not looking likely at the moment is it.. 17th and playing worse than at anytime in the past few seasons. A run of wins could do wonders for the confidence of the players but can anyone seeing it happening? 2/10

Promotion - Bradford City
Just outside the play-offs at the moment. I expect a push sooner rather than later and they may even take that runners-up spot. 5/10

Play Off Winners - Burton Albion
Also just outside the play offs. Nobody expected Burton to be challenging for anything but relegation this year. Knew I should have taken those odds at the start of the season!

Relegation - Barnet and Macclesfield
Barnet are a team I have a soft spot for. I dont want to see them go down and by the looks of the start they've had, it's not very likely either. Current on the cusp of the play offs and playing some exciting stuff. Macclesfield on the other hand haven't surprised anyone and lie just above the relegation zone. A long season awaits. 4/10

Ready to go again?

Back to work and the normal day to day life has brought me down from the cloud i'd been floating on for the previous two weeks. But, over the past couple of days i've set about emailing all the clubs that helped to make our tour as memorable as it was along with many of the individuals. I sent a quick thank you note simply letting them know that we completed the tour in the scheduled time and that their help was hugely appreciated and helpful in allowing us to see and learn as much as we did.

Since sending them, I've had good responses back from many of the clubs wishing us well for the future and congratulations etc. But a few have gone a step further and overed to bring us back to see a game as their guests with complimentary tickets and all. Those clubs are Rotherham United, Morecambe, Bradford City, Leyton Orient, Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers, Hull City, Birmingham City and Manchester United.

United have already done a huge amount for us so to recieve an email back offering us the chance to return for a game it was quite overwhelming. Tony Kelly at Bolton was a great character. He donated towards our cause, showed us round and offered us the tickets with red carpet treatment! I'll settle for a good seat and a few goals, but it'll be good to meet up with him again and at the very least buy him a drink and listen to a few more of his memories from previous games.

The security officer at Leyton Orient is a guy named Chris and since he sent us the signed shirt we've talked a lot about our clubs. He's invited us up to the Matchroom Stadium for the Gillingham game and we've also talked about meeting up to see a game at Priestfield as he used to stand on the Rainham End as a kid.

Over the next few days we'll be busy, fixture lists in hand, working out which games we can go to see and when. It would be good to try and fit in two or preferably three in a weekend. But we'd have to be extremely lucky to work that in our favour. That said, we'll have a lot of fun trying.

24 hours later

With the tours main objective complete we set out this morning to visit again the final 4 clubs we hadn't been inside in the past 12-13 days. We had to drop our hire car back first but by 11am we were at Southend United.

Mark Davies met us at reception and presented us with a signed ball whilst walking us through into the stadium. We've seen many a game at Roots Hall but its a totally different place when its empty. Quite ery even. Mark told us how current plans for the new stadium were going and seemed very positive. Lets hope things start moving soon on that front.

Leyton Orient was our 2nd port of call and after being allowed inside to walk around, we located Chris who i'd been speaking with previously. Chris arranged for the signed shirt to be sent to us and was really interested to hear how we'd gotten on. We talked about going back up there for the Gillingham game and he said to contact him first if we wanted to and he'd have something put in the programme along with providing our tickets for us. A lovely guy and it was a pleasure to meet him. From there we headed back through London to Millwall.

Our 3rd visit to The Den proved much more successful. We met our contact at reception who also had a signed pennant waiting for us. She then took us pitchside so we could collect some photos inside our 91st ground.

Gillingham became the final stop. We phoned ahead and told them everything we'd done and who we were raising money for etc. We're also puting together an article for the Kent Messenger newspaper. We were both glad to be finishing our 92 here, although Brighton was the official last ground on Thursday. As we arrived, the lady in reception phoned through to a guy in the press office. He came out, ushered us in, hardly said a word, and then ushered us back out again... And that ws it. All 92 grounds visited and seen inside. But the biggest disappointment was saved until the very end. Gillingham just didn't want to know.

You dont choose who you support but you can't half fall out of love with them....

Day Twelve

The final day was upon us already. An obvious sense of depression was working its way round our hotel room in Swindon as we got ready to leave at 6.30am. We only had 5 grounds to complete but as we've seen inside every stadium since day one, we decided to try and shoot round them as quickly as possible so we could head back into London to re-visit Crystal Palace, Millwall and Leyton O's.

We circled the County Ground, home of Swindon Town, until finally we spotted the kitman going in through a gate. Once we'd told him what we were doing he was happy to let us wander around ourselves. We got the needful and headed along a busy m4 toward Wycombe Wanderers with last nights cold pizza filling a gap and the early morning sun making sunglasses a must at 7.15...

Pulling into the car park at Adams Park we found ourselves a good 45 minutes ahead of schedule. But, as we got out we noticed a rather large gash in the front passenger side tyre. We had to call the hire company so they could get the rac out to us. Initial response time was 75 minutes. However, we'd then have to drive to Slough so they could replace the spare tyre with a proper one. Disaster. All we could do was sit and wait. As we had time on our hands, the very friendly Lisa Belcher on reception made us a hot chocolate and showed us round the stadium including board room etc. They have a lovely little stadium and a great manager in Peter Taylor, who had kindly signed a pennant which Lisa presented to us to help raise money. Eventually the breakdown man arrived, ripped to piece of rubber off the tyre and told us it was still fine to drive. Reluctantly, we gingerly drove down to Aldershot.

We were able to walk straight in and get our photos which helped. Next was Pompey. The penultimate ground. It took us a while, but we found security hiding in a little blue hut in the car park. He walked us in through the famous listed building entrance and told us a little bit about his time at the club and the restoration work currently taking place.

We left to begin the journey to the Withdean Stadium. We both felt a mixture of emotions as we pulled into the carpark. We'd completed the 92 which was the goal but we'd enjoyed the trip so much that i'm not sure either of us were ready for this to be it. We were taken into the ground be Martin Perry, chief executive. He was a busy man but congratulated us on completing our tour before saying "its a shame we're still playing here. Let's face it, its total crap isn't it". Fair enough. He also told us about the new stadium thats currently in development and due for completion next year. It's about time. I hope they take their history with them though. One thing we've really been aware of on the way round is that some new stadiums are more like council leisure centres than anything else.

We made our way back up into London to get photos inside for the website. Palace was easy but by the time we reached The Den, it was all locked up. So we'll have to go back again tomorrow. 3 visits in 13 days. Too many?

But we did what we set out to do. 92 grounds, 12 days, all in daylight hours. We had a few small problems but very few things that really cost us time. When I go back through the days, we've been so lucky in many ways. The weather has been incredible. It rained for about 30 seconds at Wembley and the only other time got caught in it was straight after eating in Nottingham. Typically, it was also the only evening i'd chosen to wear shorts!

The importance of contacting the teams before hand is indescribable. Having a contact name gives you a foot in the door and doing it for charity can only help too. The bear we carried round with us got us into quite a few areas we may not have been allowed in otherwise. The friends we've made along the way and the people we've met at some of the grounds have simply made this tour a pleasure.

I'm truly gutted i'll be waking up tomorrow without the excitement of 8 or 9 new grounds to visit. Just 4000+ photo's to remind me of a memorable 12 days.

Day Eleven

The longest day yet. It all started with a 155 mile drive from Cardiff to Plymouth and all before 9am. We arrived before most of the staff so as they walked in we grabbed them and allowed one unfortunate guy to escort us into the stadium. There was a rather flat feel to the place after last nights loss at home to Watford. One of the most impressive club shops outside the premiership though. That said, they did have one of the strangest leaflets i've ever seen at a football club. A had to picture it and use it as tonights pic. Football team funerals huh? Where does it all end? ...

Torquay next and our contact was Frank Prince. As we entered reception we noticed that all the pictures from Torquay's promotion season hanging on the walls were actually taken at Southend. Frank walked us out and allowed us to go on the pitch. Only the 2nd ground to allow us to do so. From there we were shown around the dressing rooms where we were presented with a pennant signed by the manager Colin Lee. Dad recalled watching Colin on his debut for Tottenham scoring four goals and winning 9-0. Frank let Dad continue to try and remember and dig his hole even deeper until finally he admitted to being the captain of the opposition that day and being substituted after going 6 down! We met Colin just after this and he was obviously busy but found time to speak to us which was great.

We arrived at Exeter knowing we'd be collecting an item to put towards fundraising but neither of us expected to be there for long. But, we probably enjoyed out tour and cup of tea with club operations manager Andy Gillard more than any other team throughout this penultimate day. A small and personal stadium which just ouzes character.

Yeovil was next on the agenda and they'd been kind enough to donate 2 tickets to auction. We geatefully collected them, took some photos and made the trip down to Dean Court/Fitness First stadium to visit Bournemouth. There's very little that actually advertises the club on the exterior and on the inside we were suprised to see that no further work had been carried out to build some kind of stand behind the park end goal since our last visit in 2003.

Southampton proved to be the last stop along the South coast. We were taken inside St Mary's at 5.05pm but knew we'd be unable to reach Portsmouth before the club workers went home, so we decided to shoot up to Reading to watch the game with Cardiff.

As we arrived at the Madejski we were very impressed with security as they allowed us to park at the stadium because of our tour. Good news didn't last long though. Although it wasn't a sell out, it was all ticket and despite the charity work we're doing and the fact that we'd contacted them regarding the possibility of seeing the game 3 months earlier they simply refused to help. We could be '2 Cardiff fans looking to cause trouble' they said. And we should have contacted them earlier as well apparently. 3 months wasn't enough... The only real disappointment that i'll take away from this tour, especially as we worked so hard to get there on time.

The final day looms large all of a sudden. Aldershot, Swindon, Wycombe, Portsmouth and Brighton are all thats left to complete. Although we're still toying with the idea of going back into London on Friday to see inside the grounds we failed to on day 1. We shall see.

Day Ten

Just two days left. It was a rather depressing moment today as we reached the 80 club mark. We weren't supposed to reach that level until tomorrow but we've given the finish to our tour a lot of thought over the last few days and decided that we'd like to go back to the 4 grounds we didn't get inside of on Day 1. It may be that we dont manage it but we're going to give it a go.

First up this morning was Coventry City. The Ricoh Arena is a new symetrical stadium that's impossible to see inside of without being taken inside so we were relying on security being around. 7am, they were there. A good result really as the security guard who showed us round worked at the old Highfield Road stadium and had too many stories for us to be able to listen to unfortunately. We thanked him for his time and made our way to Hereford.

Edgar Street is a strange stadium. It has a semi-circular stand behind each goal and a two-tiered stand running along one side of the pitch. We parked in the players car park and made our way inside. The guy on reception begrudgingly allowed us in but happily ushered us out as soon as he could. It was a shame because i really enjoy the visits to the lower league teams. Wont be too disappointed if they and Darlington were the 2 teams to drop out of the league this year. When we returned to the car we were almost blocked in by the players arriving for training. 5 minutes later and we'd have had a serious problem!

Cheltenham and the two Bristol clubs came and went very quickly without any noticable incidents worthy of mentioning. All were very welcoming and happy to show us in for photos.

We made our way into Wales for a non '92' stop at the Millennium Stadium. We'd been given 2 free tickets to do the tour and arrived a few minutes before it was due to begin. It looks a magnificient structure from the road or other side of the river taff. What lets it down, both inside and out is the there's very little advertisement of the fact that it hosts the Welsh national football and rugby teams. However, we learnt some interesting facts on the way round. They bring in a falcon bird to chase out all the pidgeons twice a week. It has to be a specific type of bird because they only want it to chase and not catch. Also, it amazed me at the amount of work that goes into relaying the pitch. It needs 188 lorry loads to deliver the 7312 1.3m sq pallets of grass required and costs over £150,000 everytime.

Cardiff City's new stadium was next. As we arrived we could see the frontage of the old Ninian Park still clear and easily accessible for photos. Workmen were onsite and wouldn't allow me in so i asked the guard to take some for me. He wandered off with my camera. After a couple of minutes, Dad and I were convinced that he wasn't coming back.. But he did, and he'd actually taken some very good shots.

Up at the new stadium my contact, Scott Young, met us with his colleague Joe. They took us on a very relaxed tour of the ground, totally unrushed and full of stories from the days at Ninian including Scott's winner against Leeds in the FA Cup when Leeds were top of the Premier League. We got some great pictures from the executive boxes at the top of the main stand. We left at about 4pm, ahead of schedule, to check in at the hotel before the game at Swansea.

The Liberty Stadium is very similar to Cardiff's new ground. Very impressive both outside and in, which gave lots of photo opportunities. We collected our complimentary tickets and after dinner, made our way inside. Seats were very impressive in the West stand upper. Although it didn't look as though there was a bad view in the house. Lee Trundle was sat a few rows infront of us so we asked him to sign our programme a left him to watch the game between his current employers and the side he's on loan to. It turned out to be a pretty boring 0-0 draw but there was a very lively atmosphere and sound really travels around. We were very grateful for the hospitality they showed us. The gulf in class between here and Hereford is scarily large.

A long day tomorrow starts with a 3 hour drive to Plymouth. I hope they're in....

Day Nine

Having done Macclesfield and Stockport last night I was expecting an easier morning. But I was wrong. Alarm went off at 5.45am and we were away from the hotel in Manchester by 6.20.

Crewe was up first. We pulled up and without any obvious signs of life split up to walk opposite ways round the stadium. Just at the end of the newest main stand I came across the janitor. He was dubious and it took a bit of work but eventually he went and asked the only other member of staff around, the kitman, if he thought it was ok. Next think we know he'd opened the gates, invited us in, made us a cup of tea and given us a short walk through the changing rooms. He also donated a couple of programmes to put towards the collection. We chatted about the tour for a while and he told us that he's seen games at 91 of the football league grounds. Only Dagenham and Redbridge remain to be ticked off his list.

At Port Vale we were showed in by the duty manager. He talked all about the re-development of the stands including the Robbie Williams suite. A big stadium for a lower end league two side. But they appear to be doing things right and the reception was rather impressive so good luck to them.

After a quick detour into Hanley town centre for a picture of the Stanley Matthews statue and some breakfast, we made the short trip down to Stoke. The Brittannia Stadium is very eye catching both inside and out. Our contact, Steve Hunt, met us at reception and walked us through to pitchside for photos. He told us that he knows someone doing the same job as he does at WBA and getting paid £10k more than him. But he wouldn't dream of leaving apparently. As a life long Potters fan its a dream job.

Shrewsbury were very friendly and had made an obvious effort to take some of their history with them to the new ground. We were taken pitchside as we were at Walsall, our next stop. The Banks Stadium was a little soulless I thought but i'm sure its much better on matchdays.

Arriving at Wolves we'd managed to get ourselves about an hour ahead of schedule which was good because Molineux has lots to get pictured. As we walked down to reception, Steve Bull walked out and jumped into his car. We stopped him from driving away and he was happy to pose for a quick photo with our Great Ormond Street bear. A great start to our visit. Our contact, Jane Whitehead, was behind reception as we entered and had a signed pennant waiting for us! It was nice for another club to have been expecting us. They've recently had one of the corners of the stadium filled in with temporary seating so as a Gillingham fan i felt quite at home.

West Brom were very friendly and more than happy for us to walk around and get photos before offering us tickets to a future game! Amazing generosity again! We left to make the trip to St Andrews. We spoke to the lady in the Birmingham City reception and after initially telling us there was no chance of gaining access, the lady helping us phoned the press office. 'Chris' came down to help us and spent a long time talking to us and walking us round to the oldest stand to make the panoramics look better. He also offered us complimentary tickets to a game in the future. Much like the offers at Bolton & West Brom, its one we'll have to take up.

We went and checked in at our hotel before venturing out to Villa Park for the reserve game against Portsmouth. We walked round the ground before kick off and with Villa leading 1-0 at half time, decided it would be a good time to make a move to go and find somewhere for dinner. We'd parked in the official car park and on our way back to the car we noticed a large painting of an old Villa Park in the Trinity Rd reception. Security allowed us in to take photos of it. We talked about the tour we're doing and Steve Chance, a hospitality manager, asked if we'd like to see the executive boxes and vip suites. Before we knew where we were we'd spent an hour walking through the amazing halls with pictures adorned on the walls. We were shown through the 1982 restaurant dedicated to the European Cup winning side. After, we were taken up to the vip section where we saw Gary Speed, Mark Robins, Geoff Horsfield and Ian Taylor. From there, Steve took us into the box next to Randy Lerner's. He told us many stories about following Villa round the country and England around the world. He also went to Euro 2008 and saw a lot of games including both semi finals. It really is all about contacts isn't!

We left in shock again at just how friendly they'd been. Another big club that really couldn't have done more for us.

Day Eight

Its hard to believe how quickly this tour is going. We've now completed two thirds of the 92 grounds and I've simply run out of ways to explain how much i'm enjoying it. Today's journey from our overnight base of Warrington up through all Liverpool and some Manchester based teams was no different.

We arrived at the home of Tranmere Rovers at about 7.30 am to be greated by a mass of people there for a boot sale in the far car park. Fortunately there was a lot of activity throughout Prenton Park as part of the clean up process for the game the day before. The security guard was happy for us to let ourselves in and walk around.

After the short journey through the Mersey tunnel we took a detour through Penny Lane and the roundabout at the end of the road. The barbers and bank are still there but in the centre of the circle was a run down and boarded up cafe called Sgt Peppers. You would expect places like this to make a lot of money and this subject provided the main line of conversation for the next hour or so. It was a shame to see the area had been allowed to get into the state it is. With all the beatles tours run daily, there should be a market for a cafe. But i guess it just hasn't been done rightly so far.. Anyway, back to the football!

Liverpool was the 2nd scheduled stop of the day and the tour manager kindly took us through a side gate into Anfield. Unfortunately, at most Premier League grounds there's been heaters and lights all over the pitch which does take away from the pictures we're trying to take. Outside the stadium, we took in the Hillsborough memorial and the famous gates. Including the statue of Bill Shankly, there's just so much to capture on camera.

At Everton we caught the security lady on her way in. We had been promised a signed photo on the gate which wasn't forthcoming but at least they allowed us pitchside to keep up our record of having taken photos inside every stadium since Leyton Orient on day one.

Oldham were friendly enough and allowed us in. We had a contact of Lois Best who had given us her phone number to call when we arrived. If we'd have struggled to get in we may have had work to do but we didn't so we called Lois to let her know and moved onto Man City.

We arrived at Eastlands knowing that we'd been told we wouldn't be allowed access but we've learnt a lot on the way round and thought we'd put our experience to work. We found security, but no luck, club shop, no luck, and then finally we found the tours centre. Dianne Hill, tours manager was very friendly and helpful and also interested in our story. She was at the infamous City v Gillingham play off final in 99 but came away with some much happier memories than us. Anyway, she showed us down to the pitch where we took some quick pics and set off to Old Trafford.

Our contact was stadium manager Gordon Shields but he'd been unable to meet us and so arranged for his colleague Paul Constanti to take his place. We were at the ground early so i called him to let him know. It was only then we realised he was coming in on his day off just to show us round! He arrived and took us straight into the Theatre of Dreams. From there he walked us round the dug outs, the changing rooms, players lounge and even up into the commercial boxes. A place the public tours dont even go! We came across the tours manager in one of the boxes who chatted to us for a while before asking Paul to collect a pennant from his office on the way down to help with our fundraising. From there we were taken down to the museum and guided around through all sections including the main feature of the 99 treble. By the time we left, Paul had spent over an hour with us. It was an incredible effort from a club widely recognised as the biggest in the world. They didn't have to do what they did but it was hugely appreciated and will add to the memories we'll take away.

That was due to be the lot but with day nine all set to be a long one, we chose to tick off Stockport and Macclesfield. At Edgeley Park it was quickly apparent that no one was home. So, desperate to get pictures inside we found a low gate and I climbed up towards barbed wire territory and took some. However, i wanted a picture of the end behind the goal so after an adventure through a derelict building and an overgrown hill, I levered myself up between a fence and a tree and managed to get the shots I wanted.

Much of the same at Macclesfield until the kitman appeared through a side door. We pounced and I think he was just happy for some company and as such ushered us through. We got all we needed and made the trip back up to our hotel for the night.

Still a very early morning planned but it is, at least, 2 grounds lighter now. Hopefully there'll be no need for any mountaineering tomorrow. But when needs must..

Day Seven

We decided to re-arrange our plans for today a few weeks ago but only actually realised we forget to print off the amendments last night... That meant that i had to sit with a road atlas on my lap that's so big, that you could fold it out flat and give yourself a full scale model of the british isles. I considered this map not to be one of Dad's better purchases but it did us a good turn for the first few grounds of the day.

We reached Stadium Dave (DW Stadium) at 7am and as we pulled in it appeared to all be locked up but after we circled around looking for some signs of life we came across a truck parked by an entrance. I jumped out and shouted through the hole in the fence. The grounsman was just about to start but heard us and let us inside. We had similar luck at Rochdale just half hour down the road. Neither club had responded to the letter or any emails so it was nice to get a result with these.

Next up was a trip to Bury. Our contact was Gordon Sorfleet. He met us at reception and showed us inside Gigg Lane. He was a huge Bury fan and used to run an online unofficial club fanzine when he was in the navy. The day he left, he was offered a job as media man at the stadium. He walked us through the stadium, boot room and changing rooms until we reached his office. Or his 'den' as he called it. Its only a small room but its full to the brim with videos of games, programmes from the last 60 seasons and he even had 9 cash books from the first few years after the 2nd world war. But the real thing that caught our eye was the shield above. Its an award for 'supporter of the year'. He then told us the story behind it. He'd helped raise £150,000 to keep the club in business and as a reward uefa gave him and his wife an all expenses paid trip to Monte Carlo. At the reception he and his wife were sat on the same table as Zinedine Zidane. Not bad company to keep! However, whilst they were walking round being introduced his wife accidentally stood (high heels and all) on Francesco Totti's foot! It actually fractured his metatarsal and put him out of action for 8 weeks! An amazing man with so many stories to tell.

Bolton next and although we arrived late, our contact Tony Kelly, had phoned us earlier in the day to make sure everything wss going well. I asked at reception for him and they didn't even know him. They cant have spoken to him before! After spending 10 minutes talking to him on a quick tour round we certainly wont be forgetting his infectious sense of humour and passion for the game. He was hugely intrrested in the tour and as such donated a signed ball and shirt to help with fundraising. He also invited us up for a game sometime with complimentary tickets and all. A lovely guy and we'll certainly be looking to take him up on his offer.

It was off to Burnley next and a letter we'd recieved from them asked us to go straight to the club shop on arrival. Unfortunately no one anywhere was able to help until we found a supervisor gathering some stewards together for the trip across to Liverpool. After a short sob story and an appearance by the Great Ormond Street bear he eventually took us into Turf Moor through a side gate.

We'd been given 2 tickets to see Preston play Swansea in the afternoon so we took the opportunity to get to Deepdale early and take in the fabulous national football museum. There's so many fascinating bits and pieces in there. If you're ever up that way you really should try and find an hour or so to go round. Its definately worth it! Afterwards we collected our tickets from the Tom Finney reception and gratefully made our way inside. Since completing the 4th stand, it really has become a magnificent stadium. Preston won 2-0 although we missed the 2nd goal as we needed to beat the crowns away to make it to Blackpool before dark.

We made it to Bloomfield Road easily. Our plan was to get some pictures and walk through from the ground to get something to eat whilst taking in the illuminations. After finding a space i walked over and found a security guard who took me inside before offering us a free space in the clubs car park whilst we did everything else we wanted to. It saved us £7.50 parking fees so we were very happy with Blackpool's donation to the cause! The lights along the prominade were also worth a night out.

All the little extras we've added in seem to have worked out really well so far. Touch wood, it stays that way!

Day Six

A nice easy morning. Up at 7.30 and out taking pictures along the tyne by 8. From there we walked up to St James' Park and bought our tickets for the 11am tour. After a seriously satisfying 'belly buster' breakfast we returned to the stadium for our first look inside Newcastle United. What an unbelievable set up they have. Its difficult to see how they can fail to get promotion this year especially since they're still raking in over 45,000 for games in the Championship. The highlight of the tour for me has to be sitting in Bobby Robson's seat.

90 minutes later and we were off to Carlisle where we met our contact Jenny at reception. She really made us feel at home and spent a lot of time walking us round before presenting us with a signed ball. In the main entrance is a big photo showing just how bad the floods of 2005 hit this club. The entire pitch and first few rows of each stand were under water and took, in total, 4 months to complete the clean up process. Jenny showed us round the old training pitch and it wasn't difficult to see the destruction that the rain had caused. On the way out of the ground, purely by coincidence we bumped into 3 guys touring the 92 in 92 hours. They were rushing round, seeing grounds in the dark and sleeping in the van. Im happy with the way we're doing it I think!

After a long run down the M6 we arrived at Morecambe. We found Janet Preston who we'd been emailing before the trip in a portacabin outside the main entrance. She immediately handed over a limited edition home shirt for this season, their last at Christie Park. As an added bonus we were allowed to walk on the pitch! Ground 47 and finally we got to step on the green stuff.

Blackburn next and the security guard was kind enough to let us into the ground. Took our pics and panoramics and headed off to Accrington Stanley.

We were due to be presented on the pitch but Rob Heys who was going to arrange it for us was very busy with Sky tv interviews and the SOS appeal (save our stanley). We accepted our free tickets and found our seats. Neither of us were disappointed by not going on the pitch. We weren't going to do a bucket collection or anything so it would only have been a quick wave anyway. However, the average crowd at The Fraser Eagle stadium has been little more than 1500 recently, but with fans of all other local clubs appealed to to turn out, tonights attendance was in excess of 3200. There were a mass of Blackburn, Burnley, Bury and even Rochdale shirts. It was impressive to hear stories of local clubs providing charity matches to help raise vital money needed to keep Stanley's head above water. But its not just other clubs helping out. As we sat in reception a man walked in and handed over a £1000 cash donation! No one wants to see this club go under again.

And after the atmosphere the home fans in the main stand behind the goal created, its obvious to see that passion at tradional football grounds is well and truly alive.

Day Five

An extra half hour in bed was much needed. Last night i sat watching the England game with matchsticks holding my eyes open. I did see the goals but couldn't fully appreciate the success the win brought with it.

Anyway, by 8.30am we'd driven over 50 miles and visited Scunthorpe and Grimsby. At both grounds we managed to just walk straight in, grab a few pics including the panoramics i'm trying to do at each one and even have a wander around inside with no one insight.

The journey to Hull took us up and over the Humber bridge. Some very impressive views are to be had whilst travelling across if your quick enough with your camera! The stadium itself is a very impressive build. Its situated in the middle of a park and although im told its not the friendliest place on matchdays, today being as sunny and warm as it was, just helped to set a much better tone. Unfortunately the guy that ended up showing us round wasn't overly keen on us being in there. More than happy to usher us out asap.

Instead of using the quickest directions to Darlington we decided to take the more scenic (and slow) route up the coast through Bridlington and Scarborough. Just outside Middlesbrough we took the wrong turn (Dad's gps at work again) and managed to head off in completely the wrong direction. We ended up circling round the quays looking for The Riverside Stadium. After finding it we were very impressed with the exterior. Ayresome Parks gates are terrific. The maintenance man that showed us round was also great. A very proud West Ham fan, he spent a long time with us basically allowing us to do whatever we liked. We had photos by the pitch, in the press room and even lying on the injury tables!

At Darlington it was one ground that defined the difference between a traditional football stadium and a lifeless, soulless area where people frequent to watch games. Also, the guy that was asked to let us in was the rudest guy we've come across on the tour so far. On introducing ourselves he simply said "this wont take long will it". Went downhill from there. That said, the secretary was nice, we liked her!

Off to Hartlepool after where we'd been promised a signed ball. Our contact was off ill unfortunately but Becky, her colleague, knew about our tour and showed us in. When Dad asked about staff and how many work at the ground Becky asked if we wanted to meet the manager Chris Turner. Of course we did...! He came out and posed for photos whilst asking about the tour. They took down lots of our details to put an article on their website. Very nice of them!

Just Sunderland left after that and we really did save the best for last. There's so much to take pictures of outside let alone in the Stadium Of Light. Our contact Andrew met us at reception and took us on a tour. He really made the effort showing us the changing rooms, players lounge, media lounge, interview rooms and obviously out to the pitch. Such a lovely club and you really notice the effort they've made to bring their past with them. Statues everywhere and the H'way the lads gates help to make the main entrance that little bit more special.

After we'd finished, we headed off to find the Angel of the North. Its even bigger and better close up than it looks when you drive past.

I'm having an unbelievable time and only wish it'd stop going by so quickly!

Day Four

Up and out of our Nottingham Traveloge at 6.10 this morning. This was always going to be a tough day so we needed some luck to make it round on time.

We arrived at Lincoln expecting everything to be locked up but to our suprise there were lots of cars and people gathered by the main entrance. We grabbed our cameras and asked if it was possible to go inside. I think the guy that showed us round was the stadium manager but for the purpose of the meeting that was taking place he was also the cook and barman!

At Chesterfield we were able to just walk straight in and up the stairs into the ground. We made some time here but lost it all and fell about 15 minutes behind after getting lost on the route away from the ground.

Our next stop was Sheffield FC. The worlds oldest football club. As we pulled into the car park the place looked very quiet. So we decided to grab a quick photo and move on. However, a guy ran out from the other side of the stand and asked what we were doing. We explained and he asked if we wanted to look around inside. No questions asked. He introduced us to the chairman and the manager and they showed us into the trophy room which housed all sorts of memorabilia from pictures to signed pennants and shirts. Also adorned on the walls was pictures and a FIFA accreditation for their 150th year as a football club. Jack Warner the president of FIFA had visited along with Trinidad & Tobago a few days before hand and we signed the guest book directly below him. As we were preparing to leave the 2 guys showing us round (ian and lee) presented us with some memorabilia including a shirt to help with fundraising. A great effort from a terrific club hopefully destined for bigger and better things.

Lee at Sheffield FC also happened to know a projects manager at Bramall Lane and so phoned ahead for us. When we arrived he met us and showed us round the stadium. He then badgered the lady at reception, Sue Bramall into donating something. She went into her cupboard and managed to dig out a shirt signed by the whole team. Thanks go to Dave McCarthy.

After visiting Hallam FC and the oldest stadium in the world, we were about 45 minutes behind and as hard as we tried we never managed to make that up.

Sheffield Wednesday is a lovely traditional football stadium. Security took us round and showed us how bad the floods of 2007 were. Its amazing how bad it was. News stories just didn't relay it in that manor. Took pics of the Hillsborough disaster memorial and headed off towards the Don Valley.

We turned up, pork sandwiches in hand and raced in and out as quickly as possible. We did the same at Doncaster. Lovely new stadium but they dont own it. However there is good advertising outside and the most helpful and friendliest receptionist encountered in 3 months of planning and preperation.

On the way to Barnsley we were stuck for a while behind the pie van above. Fantastic company slogan. Yesterday we passed a breakfast van called Angies Big Baps. Great work.

At Barnsley we were waiting for our contact Wayne Bullimore at reception when Mark Robins walked out. He's literally just taken over at the club after compensation was agreed with Rotherham. Wayne arrived soon after and was really friendly and talkative whilst taking us in.

At Huddersfield we really had to rush in and out to get to Bradford before 5.30. We found reception and were allowed to go through to the pitch. Took some very quick snaps and raced off down the m62. Our contact at Valley Parade was Ian Ormondroyd and he'd been really helpful over email in arranging the tour so we called him to let him know we were late. He stayed on the phone for a good 5 minutes guiding us through the city in rush hour and he'd happilly stay til we arrived. He did, presented us with a signed programme, showed us inside and we left very happy!

We reached our last ground, Elland Road, home of Leeds United at 6.40pm. To our suprise security were still there and unlocked the gates for us. We took our pictures and headed off to the hotel for some very well earned sleep. Oh and the England game!

Day Three

Another early morning saw us up and out of the Ipswich hotel by 6.10am. Norwich was first on the list and we arrived there at 7.20. Having had no email or postal correspondance from them we looked for security and thought of the right things to say. The guy was very helpful but did need a lot of nudging to eventually phone his boss to get the ok for allowing us in. He did, we went in, lots of photos and headed off to Peterborough.

Long slow journey through East Anglia ensued but we still arrived at London Road a few minutes ahead of what we'd planned. Reception were very helpful and allowed us in for pictures.

Onto MK Dons after and on entering reception I spotted Pete Winkleman (chairman) and pointed him out to Dad. A lovely lady from the trust department showed us round the ground and told us about future plans for progression. As we were leaving reception and driving toward the exit we noticed Mr Winkleman still standing down by the frontage so Dad grabbed the camera and raced down for a photo. Lovely guy and was very happy to talk and pose with the Great Ormond St bear.

Leaving on a high we set off for Northampton and were let in and back out and on the road again very quickly. Unfortunately a series of wrong turns saw us lose the 25 minute gap we'd manage to give ourselves.

Leicester and Burton Albion were both very friendly and happy to assist and Derby at 4.30 proved difficult to find but easier to drive away from after than we had expected. However, I did pull into the wrong car park here and found myself mounting the pavement and driving along the walkway, down a ridge at the pedestrian crossing and back onto the road into the main reception. Pride Park is a lovely stadium and our favourite of the day. The front really shows off the teams colours and logo's and makes you want to photograph it.

Off to Notts County next. We arrived at 5.10pm and went straight into reception. We were 20 minutes early but the lady on reception said our contact had left the club on Saturday and unfortunately the ground was all shut for the night. Dejected, i threw in another name mention in an email and it turned out to be the chairman. He was in a meeting though so it looked like we'd fail to see inside. At that moment the meeting broke up and first out the door was Sven Goran Eriksson.. We firstly asked him for a photo which he very kindly obliged to when he noticed the bear with GOSH on it and he asked what we were doing. We explained and said its a shame we cant get photos inside. He said "we can sort that i'm sure. follow me". So we did. He took us through inside Meadow Lane and chatted with us for a few minutes about why he took over and his influence in the Sol Cambell deal. We left moments later completely stunned. Walking behind my Dad and Sven having a talk whilst SGE gave us a tour of the ground was the most sureal moment of my life.

Onto Forest as the final stadium of the day and we arrived just as they were closing up. Fortunately the groundsman let us in for some quick snaps.

If we have a better day than this by the end, i'll be hugely suprised. I'm still on a different cloud.

Day Two

The day began at Kew Bridge Travelodge in Brentford at about 6am. We needed to get around the first few grounds quickly so the early start was a must.

We reached Chelsea at 6.45 and after walking past the main entrance which was blocked off, we reached the Millennium Hotel through road where the security for Stamford Bridge were based. We spoke to a guard who asked us to wait until 7 o'clock. We did and he took us through the shed end entrance and into the ground as his last act of a long night shift. This was a real result as letters and emails similar to ones from Arsenal had given us no hope of any help.

Fulham was next and after a very good run we were there 10 minutes early but the security officers were already working. They should have been expecting us but seemed to know nothing about our tour. However, they were more than happy to help and allowed us in for pictures of the cottage.

From there we headed back towards our starting point and with a little help with parking we were able to visit and see inside both QPR and Brentford and head off towards Wembley with a 2 hour cushion. When we turned up at Wembley the parking assistant allowed us to leave the car for 5 minutes which was a huge help.

Watford are having a lot of building work done and to gain access inside we had to park next to a £40 charge for parking here sign, clamber across the building site and up into the stand behind the hospital end to find the manager. He was very happy to show us round and told us about a similar tour to ours that he's got in the pipeline.

Barnet was next and although i'd had 3 responses to my 1 email, 2 rejections and 1 acceptance they were very happy to have us. The lady at reception asked the groundsman to 'sort us out'. He was possibly the friendliest person we've met on the tour so far and told us all about being called up to help work on the pitch at Wembley for the England v Croatia game on Wednesday. He also had a large Chelsea tattoo on his leg that he has to cover up on match days, especially when Arsenal are in town as the chairman is a gunners fan.

After leaving Underhill we had to shoot off home very quickly to pick up some pills Dad forgot to take. Noticed twice today how Dad's becoming the stereotypical male on the roads. I drove from 6am until we reached home and twice, as navigator, Dad decided that the google map instructions were wrong and that his internal gps was much more trusted. Both times, we turned round half mile down the road and followed google after all...

Our penultimate ground was the new Colchester United's Weston Homes Community Stadium. After seeing Ady Boothroyd leaving the car park we met our contact at reception and he showed us round. Impressive facilities and lots of room for expansion if needed.

We took a slow drive up to Ipswich for our last Stadium of the day and Camilla welcomed us with a parking space and entry inside. We took lots of photos and she told us all about the stand which will be renamed in Bobby Robson's honour at the Newcastle game in the coming weeks. Outside the ground is a statue of Sir Bobby and also one of Sir Alf Ramsey. It's lovely to see them both remembered by a club they both served so well.

All in all, a great day and the time we managed to get ahead gave us great optomism for the rest of the tour.

Day One

We started at 8.30am. A relative lie in compared to the days ahead.

Southend and Gillingham were first and second on the agenda and both came and went with no suprises. Both were closed so a quick few photos and back in the car. I took over driving on the route to Crystal Palace and immediately took us the wrong way, fortunately not irrepairably. By the time we reached Selhurst Park we were about 10 mins behind scedule but with no one around to let us inside we took some pictures of reception and the main entrance, grabbed a sandwich from sainsburys and headed off to Millwall.

No real problems with directions but the journey was slow. As we pulled up to the lights opposite the zampa road entrance to The Den there were a group of very shady looking characters on the corner. We drove down, under the rail bridge and parked over a factory driveway to get some photos. There was an open day in progress in the car park with kids on the millwall bus and everything. Really not as intimidating as a match day would have been. Even the dodgy guys outside the entrance turned out to be evangelical church goers... But you could have mistook them for a gang.. In the dark.. Maybe.

The trip to Charlton proved a total nightmare. Roads were chocker block, street names were different to that on the map and the blackwall tunnel was incredibly busy. When we arrived at the ground the security guard very kindly walked us through into the stadium. He also gave us some programmes to auction. By the time we left, we were over an hour and fifteen minutes behind schedule.

West Ham next and after a relatively easy drive considering the traffic at the tunnel, we were known at reception and security came down, presented us with a signed pennant and took us inside for photos. Terrific considering my contact at the club had only been able to give me 'possibles'. Very friendly and a lovely stadium.

Our contact at Dagenham had to leave before we arrived but he left behind 3 tickets to any home game for fundraising. We gratefully collected those and wandered into the ground for photos and a few minutes of the Daggers ladies match v Norwich.

Leyton Orient was a quick stop and go but fortunately the trip to Spurs was a good one and as we pulled into Bill Nicholson Way we were only about 30 mins behind time. Building work was still going on at The Lane and because of that we were able to signal one of the contractors who had security come and talk to us. The guy was very friendly and allowed us into the main entrance, through the inside of the stadium and out the tunnel to the pitch. My Dad's a big Tottenham fan so getting to do this was obviously a life long goal and made the trip wholly worthwhile for him!

From there to Arsenal was relatively simple and after email correspondance that were of no help we had no real expectations of the new Emirates Stadium. We pulled up in a surrounding road with derelict buildings along one side allowing us to park up and leave the car. We took photos and had a walk round before heading back to the car. As we went to turn round, purely by accident we happened to notice the main security entrance hidden under the stadium. I figured what harm can it do to ask them for some photos inside. After a small story looking for someone to take pity they eventually let us in and were actually really helpful. We spent about 10 minutes inside looking around at the impressive design.

After that we took the short journey over to the site of Arsenal's ols stadium Highbury. They've kept the east stand main entrance and made a very good job of turning into appartments but keeping the Arsenal football heritage involved in the land.

Early start tomorrow and a long day. Day 1 over though, 10 grounds down. 82 to go.

1 more sleep..

The tour starts tomorrow! Infact, by this time tomorrow we'll be settling into our hotel room in London having ticked off 10 of the 92 grounds. Hopefully..!

Today's been more interesting than it should have been though. Avis called this morning to let us know that our hire car was ready to collect. However, they were supposed to be delivering it. That wasn't the issue though. The problem was, they now no longer had a catogory car equivalent to the one we had booked and were therefore going to have to downgrade us. £5 off didn't seem like enough for the change but we'll sort that out when we get back. We've been given a Ford Focus 1.6. Looks very nice and I certainly cant complain because it's a very smooth drive with a fair bit of kick to it, but it's not what we were promised and after the post I put on here praising them and how helpful they were I feel I should backtrack slightly. From my experiences in trying to hire a car of a certain size for 12 days, dont bother. It's probably easier to buy a car, use it for the time you need it and then take it back... Less annoyance, less problems and you're always in control!

After collecting the car we made our way up to Brentwood as we were booked in as guests on Steve Robertson's Saturday Kick About radio show on Phoenix FM. We had a little bit of trouble finding the studio, mainly due to my sense of direction (bodes well for the tour) but we got there in the end and had a great time. Just seeing how the inside of a radio station works was a lot of fun and learning just how clever some of the systems are, allowing just one person to run an entire show alone was a real eye opener.

We talked about the tour and the fundraising aspect. It was really pleasing to be able to say how much we've raised. When I first set all of the promotional sites up I set a modest target of £500. I expected to reach that and as long as I did i'd be more than happy. Since then, things changed slightly and my Dad became involved. Both he and my Mum have helped with collecting sponsors and some of the people at work have been tremendous at guilt tripping a few others into signing my sheets too!

As of today, we have officially raised £1025! Over double the original target. On top of that figure, we have all the items that football clubs have sent us. Signed shirts, photos, balls and tickets to games for all different teams will hopefully help dwarf that original £500 mark!

Early night I think!

On the Radio...

On Saturday my Dad and I will be following up the initial radio interview with Phoenix FM promoting the tour, which I did a few weeks back. We'll be visiting the station's offices in Brentwood. Actually doing interviews on the radio doesn't fluster me, but they have a live stream online complete with webcam at www.phoenixfm.com. That does worry me slightly. That said, i've really got to get used to it quickly because in just over 9 days, we'll be standing out on the pitch at Accrington Stanley with a few thousand people to talk to.

Tottenham have given us a lifeline. Originally they were unable to help as the ground was closed on Sunday's. However, apparently they're now having some building work done and as such will be open for a period of time over the weekend and if we turn up during that period, they'll be happy to let us in to have a picture in the stadium.

5 days and counting!

With the tour approaching, i'm now starting to confirm final details and arrangements with the clubs that have asked me to do so. Bury, Manchester United and Sunderland are now finalised whilst i'm awaiting responses from Newcastle, MK Dons, Southampton and Tottenham.

In the post over the weekend i recieved a signed photo of Shaun Wright-Phillips from Man City which should help hugely with fundraising. Also on the donation side, The Millennium Stadium have given us 2 free tickets to do the stadium tour when we arrive.

So much to look forward to and only 12 days to fit it all in....

Getting better all the time

It's about to get very busy. This week has brought responses from Everton, Yeovil and West Ham. Everton and Yeovil confirming entry to the stadium along with donations to boot, whilst the Hammers are trying to sort out a signed pennant and have advised us to speak with security on the day we arrive with regards to entry. All very friendly and helpful!

Things are going to start picking up again next week though. I've got 22 clubs to confirm details of our visits with although most of them simply want to know that we're still coming so they can make the necessary arrangement to accompany us when we arrive.

I've been asked in recent weeks about the grounds i'm looking forward to visiting most. It's a difficult question and one that i've probably answered differently every time. And I've certainly shocked a few with my replies.. Accrington, Bradford, Cardiff and Doncaster to name just a few. I've been to a lot of the bigger grounds and some have put me off by the incredible lack of customer service and support. That said, I've been to Old Trafford on many occasions but they've been incredibly helpful and the stadium manager is going to meet us on the day and take us round. It's acts of kindness like that, which will make the trip into the once in a lifetime journey it's going to be.

With so much to look forward to , I know it's going to fly by. Fortunately, i've got enough sd cards for my camera to take 7000 photos. Should be enough...

Another loss for The Gills...

As I said in my last blog, things are a little quiet at the moment with regards the tour. I've contacted West Ham United today regarding a donation and i'm waiting to hear back from them. They asked me to get in touch with them 2 weeks before the tour to see if they're able to help. Here's hoping they are. They've certainly been more helpful thus far than any of the other Premier League London sides we're visiting that weekend. Tottenham are closed, Arsenal simply refused to help and were unfortunately very poor throughout communication, Chelsea cant help and Fulham simply haven't replied. Saying that, the Arsenal response has to be the best. Unable to help because they only support one charity a year. This year they're supporting Great Ormond Street.... The same charity we're collecting for.

Away from the tour, Gillingham slumped to a 3rd straight defeat at home to Hartlepool at the weekend. A poor performance has led to a few rumbles of criticism... I won't add my voice to the doubters yet. Stimson's done a good job in charge of the Gills and I expect Priestfield to become a difficult place for teams to visit again before long. That said, we're in 20th position at the moment. And i'll settle for that come May.

Quiet week

A bit of a lull really on the football tour front. I've chased every club and got responses from most already so i'm just waiting now to start confirming all the details for our visits closer to the off date. For now i'm just going over all the arrangements and double checking. The route, hotel bookings, hire car arrangements, contacts, bags and suit cases, maps and directions and interviews with local newspapers and radio stations...... to name a few.

I was blissfully un-aware of the effort and time that goes into making a trip like this possible. Especially in the way we're choosing to do it. I've no doubt that if we weren't doing it for charity and weren't interested in gaining access into any of the stadiums, we'd have everything prepared already. Car, hotels and the route. That'd be it basically. Easy. But that just wouldn't be as fun as doing it like this and so with the extra fun, comes a lot of extra work. I cant say I haven't enjoyed it though, because I have. Everything is made entirely worthwhile when you get a few responses granting every wish we've asked for in our letter. The occasional rejection or rude reply/blanket response is thoroughly frustrating but it comes with the territory and isn't to be un-expected. I've named and shamed a few clubs for their poor responses and lack of customer service, possibly wrongly, but sometimes they need to get some bad press. Hopefully then, it might hit home a little more that they need to treat fans a certain way. And not just palm them off.

The more work we've put in, the more we've got out. The tour is going to be very long and probably very stressful at times but the bonuses that we're going to get along the way are huge. So far 58 teams have allowed us access to the ground, 3 have donated signed balls, 5 have given us free match tickets, 1 has donated a signed shirt, 1 has given a signed photo and 4 have confirmed signed pennants. Also, 3 others are 'possibles' for donating something. Providing those 3 do, that'll be 75 of the 92 teams, either granting access inside the stadium or donating towards the cause.

That's an incredible tally really. I've worked hard to get those responses but still couldn't have expected to have recieved so many positive ones. It makes the poorer replies stand out like sore thumbs.

13 to go...

Just 13 clubs still to hear from. And of those 13, only 5 are possibles for ground entry.

We've now heard back from all 20 Premier League teams with the exception of one. The London based team will be chased up in the next few days and although the early morning visit would restrict any chance of ground entry, there may be a possible donation available.

Blackburn responded yesterday allowing us access to Ewood Park despite the fact that we'll be arriving after office hours. We've been given the number for the security team who'll come and let us in. A great effort when you take into account the teams that have said no to access, even during working hours..

Sunderland, were unable to grant access during the day, which is actually a real shame. It's one of the grounds i've been really looking forward to visiting for a long time. I'm hopeful that on the day they may take pity and let us in for a very quick photo. They did make up for it however, by sending along with the letter, a photograph of the Stadium of Light autographed by Niall Quinn. Another item to help with the fundraising.

I'm sure i've written this a hundred times already but it just seems to be getting closer and closer so quickly. Hope it doesn't go as fast once the tour begins!

09/10 Predictions

Ok, I'll start with the Prem and work my way down.

Premier League
Winners - Chelsea
I like the fact that they've not chopped and changed their squad. I think the togetherness will show through and eventually take the title back to Stamford Bridge. The only problem I can foresee is the attitude of a few of the bigger players. Ballack and Drogba to name just 2. If Ancelotti can keep them from arguing between themselves as to who's turn it is to take a free kick I expect them to be lifting more silverware than the Community Shield come May.

Runners-Up - Man Utd
I doubt they'll be far behind by the end. They never are. The signing of Michael Owen is a very shrewd move on Alex Ferguson's behalf and the partnership down the flanks of Valencia and Nani could be vital in filling the void that Ronaldo's departure has left. Rooney undoubtedly has to have a good season as does Berbatov. It'll be interesting to see how many games the Bulgarian plays this time out.

Relegation - Burnley, Portsmouth and Hull City
It can only be good for the game to see teams like Hull promoted from the Championship and then romping their way into 3rd position in the Premier League after 10 games. The capitulation that followed almost produced one of the most surprising relegations of all time, eventually saved on the final day by another hugely suprising relegation in the form of Newcastle United. However, that final run of form is what leads me to believe that their stay of execution was just for the 1 season.
Burnley made a lot of people's season's when they beat Sheffield United in the play off final to win promotion last year. They fully deserved it however after a season that included 2 great cup runs and victories over Middlesbrough, Arsenal and Tottenham. Lest we forget, they were also just 2 minutes away from appearing against Manchester United in the Carling Cup final. Unfortunately, I just dont think they're going to be strong enough to stay up. That said, their fans will have a season to remember.
Portsmouth have done nothing but sell this summer. And throughout last season come to think of it! No club can afford to lose the likes of Lassanna Diarra, Jermaine Defoe, Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch and not suffer after effects. They need to dig deep in the coming days if they're to avoid what could be a torrid season for the Pompey faithful.

Championship
Winner - Newcastle United
A lot of arguing has ensued through talk of this subject. The Toon have sold a lot of players in order to slash the wage bill and prepare for life as a 2nd flight outfit but I think this might just be a kick in the right direction. There's no doubt that Newcastle aren't a Championship side. They lacked the stability to stay up last year and off field antics played a big part in taking them down, but as an overall club, they're too big for this league. The fan base is huge for this level and the sheer size of the stadium will cause some teams to freeze. Intimidation could win them a few vital games and help take them back to the big leagues.

Runners-Up - West Brom
Boring I know. I just found it difficult to look anywhere other than the team that yo-yo's between the 2 divisions. They're a very strong squad, good enough to get out of the Championship but without a serious injection of cash, probably not good enough to stay up once they get there. Another strong fan base though which can only act as a help in the right direction this season.

Play Off Winners - Derby County
Now, I appreciate a lot of people will see this as a strange choice but i have a good feeling about the Rams this season. Nigel Clough is a fantastic young manager with the right attitude to take the club forward. I expect a strong season culminating in Wembley Success.

Relegation - Scunthorpe, Blackpool and Barnsley
All 3 teams may manage to escape but it's difficult to see who they're going to finish above. I expect Swansea and Peterborough to be very strong having just been promoted from League One and with very few so called 'small teams' in the division this year, I fear for these three.

League One
Winners - Leeds United
They were favourites for promotion last season and fell at the play-off semi final hurdle. Despite losing Fabian Delph to Aston Villa in the summer, I dont envisage them making the same mistakes again. If they can hold onto Jermaine Beckford I see no reason why they wont win the league with some style.

Runners-Up - Charlton Athletic
A tough year brought the Addicks down to earth with a bump but I expect to see them bounce straight back up. They have plenty of talented youngsters and some experienced campaigners to boot giving them, in my mind, a good blend and a good chance of pushing Leeds for the title.

Play Off Winners - Southampton
Sticking my neck out here. Bookmakers say that Southampton are 10-1 for promotion and 22-1 to win the league. Whilst I dont see them battling for top spot I could see them sneaking 5th or 6th place and winning the play offs. Once again, fan base is a huge factor and with youth on their side, that 10 point deduction could soon be a distant memory.

Relegation - Swindon, Brighton, Exeter and Stockport
There's a fair few teams that will struggle to break away from the bottom bunch this year. Gillingham and Colchester have both had fantastic opening day wins but could easily find themselves in the mhyre at some point. Of the four choices above, Exeter City are the main team i'm not sure about. They've only got a small stadium with a small but loyal set of fans. That said, they have a good side and could easily finish the season in the top half, but on the flipside, they could easily start poorly and continue to struggle throughout. Swindon have sold good players and not replaced whilst Brighton and Stockport are bookies favourites for the drop.

League Two
Winners - Notts County
No one can ignore the transformation that's starting to take place at Meadow Lane. Sven Goran Eriksson joining the backroom staff and the immediate influx of players including Lee Hughes and Luke Rodgers shows that the club as a whole are going places. I dont expect County to lose many games this season and think its going to be the place to watch football in the lower leagues throughout the coming season.

Runners-Up - Lincoln City
The Imps have consistently pushed for promotion over the last few seasons and I see this as being a good year for them to make their move. They have a good set of players and a strong minded manager along with some of the most passionate fans in the division.

Promotion - Bradford City
A sleeping giant in a division they really should be above. Relegation from the premiership just 8 years ago destroyed the club and it really has taken a total overhaul from players to backroom staff to set the wheels rolling in the right direction again. I anticipate them having a good year and getting the promotion the club desires.

Play Off Winners - Burton Albion
Another neck pusher. Burton gained promotion to the football league last season by just 2 points on the final day having at one point had a lead of no fewer than 16. They've also started this season poorly with a 3-1 defeat at Shrewsbury but they have a new manager and a good young team with a new stadium. They're going places and I foresee a good season ahead.

Relegation - Barnet and Macclesfield
Both sides have flirted with the conference on numerous occasions and neither, to me, possess enough quality to edge away from the depths this year. I dont expect either to escape but if they do, you can bet it'll be by the skin of their teeth on the final day.

Exciting times..

The last time Gillingham won their opening game of the season 5-0 they went on to finish in their highest ever league position. A very creditable 11th in the old Division One (now the Championship). I expect this to be a very tough season however. League One possesses a large number of quality teams including, Leeds, Charlton and MK Dons along with some very good young outfits like Leyton Orient and Southend. Add to that, Colchester beating 2nd favourites for the title Norwich 7-1 and you begin to think that survival and possibly mid table would be a very positive and acceptable finish to our first season back in this division.

Overall, i'm just glad the football seasons back. There's nothing quite like it.

Money and Mails

First of all I have to say thank you to everyone that's helped towards the fundraising side of things. Online donations have now reached £130 but sponsorship sheets have topped £250 on their own. Very impressive and very grateful to everyone for helping towards the cause. It is much appreciated!

West Ham's response granting us access to the stadium for photos leaves just 2 Premier League teams left to be heard from. The lady at WHU was more than happy to help and asked me to phone 2 weeks before we set off as they may be able to sort out some sort of signed memorabilia.
Crystal Palace was very much the same. They're not able to give access to the stadium because we visit them on a Sunday but have asked us to phone the week before to see if any signed merchandise is available to us.

Also, as part of the journey we're planning on doing the tour of St James' Park, home of Newcastle United. I spoke with a guy called Chris in the Tour box office today who's passed all our information onto the best department to deal with our request. Hopefully we'll get some good feedback.

A big reply

A response this morning from the stadium manager at Manchester United confirmed we're allowed access to have photo's taken inside the stadium. Although some of the bigger teams have been good to us, United are the only "top 4" team that have been willing and able to assist. Liverpool said that weekends are problems and for that reason are unable to help but Chelsea and Arsenal were just poor. Plain and simple. Not a good example to set.

I've since found out that Arsenal support one main charity every year and this was an excuse used at to why they were unable to help us. However, the charity they're raising for this season is Great Ormond Street! The same charity we're collecting for... Incredible.

Still no luck from any of the other teams though. I've now got phone numbers and contacts for most of the left over teams though and during the next week or so i'll start calling them to see if we can arrange anything.

I've been reading a lot of websites, going through experiences of people that have either done the tour or just visited a lot of grounds in the past. Some helpful, some not. But it has struck me, just how different one persons experience of a club can be to another. An example i'll use is my home town club, Southend United. 2 of the reviews talk about the poor quality of the stadium and over zealous security once inside, whilst another praises from start to finish. It really is just people's opinions and i'm sure i'll give a few that others wont agree with.

With Thanks...

Recieved the signed shirt as promised from Leyton Orient at the weekend. As you can see from the photo, it's a tremendous piece of memorabilia and should help to raise a fair bit for charity.
Very grateful to L. Orient. They've been fantastic to us!

Still waiting for...

I've been impressed with the amount of responses we've actually recieved through email. From the 92 letters we sent out we've had just 17 come back. Compare that to the 80 odd emails I sent, where we're now just waiting to hear from 15 teams. And only 9 of those are possibles for going and having our photo taken inside due to the time factor.

Of the teams we're yet to hear anything from, there are 3 Premier League, 4 Championship, 4 League One and 4 League Two outfits. Quite an even split. But when you actually think about it, why haven't we heard anything from these teams? One of the premier league sides are a very good mid table team with a large fan base. They should be responding to letters and emails. To give credit to them, their football in the community officer has been helping me to try and get an answer out of them for a good month or so now but still nothing.

Just waiting and seeing must be the order of the day. There's a month and 2 days to go. Plenty of time.

Quick stops

Portsmouth and Leeds have both sent letters of rejection. Portsmouth was a simple blanket response that only mentions the donation side of things and Leeds was just confirming the 'no' that they gave me via email last week. It's a shame Pompey have been as poor as they have. I've not been to Fratton Park before but the lack of customer service and ability to reply to the many, many emails i've sent to different people in different departments, has left me feeling that I'm really not overly bothered.

Bristol City sent a letter that arrived on Friday. Very friendly and helpful and even agreeing for us to gain access to the ground despite the fact we'll be at Ashton Gate pre 8am. Plymouth have allowed access as have Carlisle and QPR, whilst Aston Villa have given us entry to the stadium and the offer of free tickets to the reserve team game they have at Villa Park the evening we're there.
Millwall are donating a signed pennant and if feasibly possible on the day will allow access to the ground for photos.

Over the weekend, my Dad and I sorted the car hire out. We'd been debating the best company to go with for a long time and had all but decided to plump for a half hearted effort from Europcar. They'd delayed and delayed making us an offer and eventually gave us a quote that was higher than the original on line quote. However, it was still slightly cheaper than we'd found anywhere else. Until, AVIS emailed us saying that they'd love to help and were willing to do anything they could to help. They beat the initial quotes from other companies but, in some cases, £100-£150! Their service and the friendliness of the manager (I only know him as Chris) simply blew the others out of the water. We're very grateful for the help they've given us!

The influx continues...

More and more replies flooded in yesterday with Rotherham, Colchester, Cheltenham, Bradford, Cardiff, Ipswich, Notts County, Yeovil and Exeter all giving us access to the stadium with Notts Co imparticular talking about donating to the cause.

Man City started the day by emailing to say they'd be sending a piece of signed memorabilia which will be gratefully recieved! Unfortunately access to the City of Manchester Stadium is restricted on Sunday's and as such we're not able to go in.

Leeds however, became the only club of the day to turn us away without any help. A shame that we won't get to go into Elland Road but there's plenty to take pictures of outside. At least its a ground we've been to before so there's nothing we haven't already seen. Having said that, it was the coldest night i've ever been to football game on. Snow on the ground and ice everywhere. And Gillingham lost...

Of possible grounds that time restraints will allow us to go in, we're now only waiting to hear from 13. Today's a new day though and i expect a few more before the weekend.

64 responses as of this morning..

Yesterday brought a lot of good news, and a little bit of bad.

Morecambe, Doncaster, Darlington, Chesterfield, Stoke and Swindon all confirmed we could visit and be taken pitchside for a photo. Manchester United replied confirming that in theory it was possible but i'm just awaiting confirmation from the stadium manager. And Liverpool told us that if we could visit on a weekday there wouldn't be any problems accomodating us but on a matchday or weekend it's not possible. I sent another email to them to ask if there was any special dispensations that may be allowed but i'm not keeping my hopes up.

Tottenham, unfortunately, are closed on the Sunday we visit and as such cannot help, but Oldham Athletic have shown the way with a great email from Lois Best. Oldham are also closed on Sundays but, Lois has given us her mobile number and asked us to call her on the day. If she's free she'll come and open the ground for us. Customer Service of the highest level!

Leyton Orient, although closed on the Sunday, have donated a signed shirt to put towards the fundraising. Very impressed with the response from them. They were interested in the tour and determined to do whatever they could to help. Looking forward to seeing what today brings.

Plenty to talk about..

I took it upon myself to start emailing all the clubs we're yet to hear from to make sure they'd recieved the letters we sent and to see if they're dealing with the requests we've posed to them. Most of the clubs that have responded haven't actually seen the letters but were more than happy to deal with the request over email. Brentford, Peterborough United, Leicester City, Derby County, Sheffield United, Hull City, Bury, Bournemouth and Reading were all very friendly and welcoming and happy for us to visit them with access inside the stadium. Gillingham finally got back to us but unfortunately they'll be no one at the ground on the Sunday we're there and as such are unable to help. I'm not overly dissappointed with this though because it was partially expected. It's also the first time i've ever recieved any form of response from the Gills. Previous letters and emails have always gone un-answered regardless of the subject.

Another reply came in just before lunch time today from Arsenal. Generally very good with charity requests and helping towards whatever cause you're raising for, I expected something a little more than we got. The mail from the clubs official charity representative basically just said 'no' on all counts. No access to the stadium, no donation and no help with parking. It took a further 3 emails back and forth to even get a suggestion of where we could park. Photo's outside and off to our hotel that evening.

However, the email replies have been topped by Preston North End. We've been planning on visiting Deepdale on the middle weekend of the tour to see them play Swansea City and as such our letter suggested so. A very friendly guy called Ilyas responded to us and confirmed we had been given 2 free tickets to the game and how to collect them. It's a game we're looking forward to because we've never seen a game at Deepdale and now that the fourth stand has been completed it's quite an impressive stadium as you can see in the picture above.