I was thinking the other day about the clubs in the lower leagues and how little I know about them given, with the exception of the one Championship match we get to see here a week in the States, I never see them play.
Is there a team in the lower leagues you either openly or secretly support and if you can bother, why?
Now the BBC over here has a round up of news and highlights to the games I have become reconnected to the teams I have watched beat FFC over the years. I always feel a slight bond to the teams I actually went to see on their home turf. Without going through a long list I will stick to just one. Bury was a nice ground. Gigg Lane has been the one and only ground Bury have played in for over a hundred yeats. I remember it was a nice ground with a good atmosphere. Fulham always seemed to lose by the odd goal. But that may be my memory.
So Div 2 Bury I like to keep an eye on. For no other reason than I have been to Gigg Lane on more than one occasion and remember what life was like in the good old days. Or not so good.
Godalming Town - if I get a kitchen pass when we're away, you'll find me at Wey Court watching Ryman South Division 1's finest.
You Gs!
Always keep an eye out for Oxford United and Nottingham Forest having lived there and been to uni there respectively.
Posh (Peterborough United) who are a ten minute bus ride away and all over our local paper (Peterborough Evening Telegraph) and Morecambe (who we occasionally see. Mrs Shoe comes from Morecambe and her sister/brother-in law and old mum still lives there). I first saw Peterborough when they were a pretty sensational non-league club, the best. They were drawn to play Fulham at Craven Cottage in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup in Jan 1959. It was a 0-0 played before 31,908 and Posh brought a huge amount of supporters with them. We won the replay 1-0 at their place before 21,400. Incidentally that was the season in which we came 2nd gaining promotion to the old 1st Division. I follow their results and reports but never go to see them, I am afraid they are far too expensive.
Having spent so much of my life watching Fulham in the lower divisions, I can't bring myself to support anyone else. Pretty much all of them have been a rival of ours in the past.
Still, I'm always happy to root for the underdog in any match, and I'll be following Northampton's progress in the Carling Cup after they beat Liverpool.
Sutton United or dear old Bognor Town
Quote from: epsomraver on October 08, 2010, 03:12:04 PM
Sutton United or dear old Bognor Town
Sutton for me also, until recently my Dad lived in Sunningdale Road (just around the corner from their ground)
I do work for Barry Aplin , a really nice bloke who is the chairman of Sutton United, just missed promotion last season in the one play off spot
Notts Forest and Notts County, as I went to uni in Nottingham and went to see both teams occasionally.
Grimsby, as one of my best mates is an avid (or rabid) supporter of theirs and I remember going up there in the 80s when we won 4-2 (or something like that) and having far too much beer than was good for me.
...my old amateur club Hampton (now called Hampton & Richmond Borough - Give us an 'H', give us an 'A' etc., would last 90 minutes for one chant) FC - always follow their results and now and again traipse over to the Beveree.
I am, along with a few people on this MB, a part shareholder in Stockport County, Shady1 got a syndicate together when they were going to the wall - and I will always have a soft spot for the Saddlers, Walsall FC after the support they gave us when the powers that be tried to turn us into Fulham park rangers (eeeuuuggh!).
Apart from that, as Les Barrett and a fair few former Fulham have been involved at Woking FC I still watch out for their results...
I always keep an eye out for the results of the teams my mates support. Got a soft spot for a number of teams and always interested in how ex-Fulham players and managers are getting on.
Currently that means Brighton (Mickey Adams and near to my Dad), Derby County (who I hate for '83 in equal measure), Southampton and Port Vale (Mickey Adams again).
Non-league interests include; Chertsey (nearest team), Lewes (near Dad) and Kingstonian (home town).
Stevenage Borough because my two daughters and grandson live there and because it enables me to wind up Leon at every opportunity :wum: Now what league are Hitchin Town in? :011:
I have a soft spot for Millwall. It is a family club and I like their warm and cuddly fans...
Taxi for the Finnster :red:
The wife supports barnet I make a few apperances there every season I get to see some of the teams I really hate every now and then grimsby for one as they beat us in the play offs
many years ago i watched a tv prog about the highs and lows of football, needless to say the high was Manure, but then the total opposite end of the scale was little old Darlington, their ground was an absolute horror, ever since then i have had a soft spot for them.
Quote from: Chopper on October 08, 2010, 04:48:40 PM
I always keep an eye out for the results of the teams my mates support. Got a soft spot for a number of teams and always interested in how ex-Fulham players and managers are getting on.
Currently that means Brighton (Mickey Adams and near to my Dad), Derby County (who I hate for '83 in equal measure), Southampton and Port Vale (Mickey Adams again).
Non-league interests include; Chertsey (nearest team), Lewes (near Dad) and Kingstonian (home town).
Sorry Chopper mate as you will probably know we beat Port Vale 6-0 recently who are managed by said Mickey, he has not been at Brighton for at least two years now.
Quote from: epsomraver on October 09, 2010, 03:30:52 PM
Quote from: Chopper on October 08, 2010, 04:48:40 PM
I always keep an eye out for the results of the teams my mates support. Got a soft spot for a number of teams and always interested in how ex-Fulham players and managers are getting on.
Currently that means Brighton (Mickey Adams and near to my Dad), Derby County (who I hate for '83 in equal measure), Southampton and Port Vale (Mickey Adams again).
Non-league interests include; Chertsey (nearest team), Lewes (near Dad) and Kingstonian (home town).
Sorry Chopper mate as you will probably know we beat Port Vale 6-0 recently who are managed by said Mickey, he has not been at Brighton for at least two years now.
Yeah, I meant I've got a soft spot for Brighton because of Adams spell there a while back. They had a lot of ex-FFC players too. Not sure any are left but I still like them. The new stadium is being built on the route I take down to my Dad's too.
I drove past brightons new ground a few weeks back looks like a mini wembley
Quote from: Burt on October 08, 2010, 03:45:45 PM
Notts Forest and Notts County, as I went to uni in Nottingham and went to see both teams occasionally.
Grimsby, as one of my best mates is an avid (or rabid) supporter of theirs and I remember going up there in the 80s when we won 4-2 (or something like that) and having far too much beer than was good for me.
I was at that game, Leroy hatrick :54:
Crawley Town as I lived there for a while and went to a handful of games, Hereford as my dear old Dad has been a season ticket holder there for over 10 years now, and Leyton Orient as one of my Brisbane Roar mates is Neil Johnston and his Dad, Tommy, not only played for them but has a stand named in his honour.
