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....