So, we’re on our travels again and we’re heading over to Cambridgeshire to the market town of St Neots, just off the A1 for our visit to the Power Plus Stadium for the Northern Premier Midland Division clash between St Neots Town and Lichfield City. With the sides taking up the seventh and eighth spots, both on 19 points, in what is an extremely tight league, this has the makings of a good competitive clash. On arriving, first impressions are very impressive, a great looking

The venue for our latest Proper Football awayday was Bristol Manor Farm FC. The club who are based in North West Bristol on the banks of the River Avon and play at step 4 of non-league in the Southern League - Division One South came to our attention after a mindless act of vandalism just before the start of the season caused thousands of pounds worth of damage after a car was driven into the goal mouth and set on fire which meant The Portwaymen couldn't play at home for the

Football is back and Saturday took me to Tividale in the Black Country, which is a stone’s throw from Dudley in the West Midlands. Tividale Football Club welcomed Clay Cross Town, who are based near Chesterfield. It was their first ever time in the FA Cup. The ground, which is called The Beeches, is located at the end of a residential road and was easily accessible and first impressions once inside were fantastic! The match ticket was £8, and the programme was £2, and I was g

Another football season has rolled around! The summer break is over, and football clubs and supporters up and down the country are eagerly awaiting their football fix as the beautiful game returns with hopes and dreams for the new campaign, and the anticipation of excitement and the unknown. It was quite apt that my first game of the 25/26 season would be the FA Cup extra preliminary round, as my last was the FA Cup final back in May, watching Palace lift the trophy of the ol

Doughboys deliver the delight on Derby Day! NPL Midlands Division Attendance - 792 Derby day is always a momentous occasion, and the Proper Football boys were treated to a proper rivalry as we embarked on our travels once again, this time pitching up at the Dog & Duck Stadium, home of Wellingborough Town. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining cats & dogs, making suitable weather for ducks; we were instead graced with glorious sunshine, adding a buoyant spring to our step equally as e

With the games coming thick and fast as we head into the business end of the season, I decided to pick Leatherhead FC as my choice for a Proper Football Awayday for The Tanner's big Isthmian League South Central clash against Kingstonian FC in what was a 6 pointer with the home side making a late charge for the playoffs coming up against the K's who were 2nd in the league behind already crowned champions Farnham FC with the chasing pack breathing down K's necks. Leatherhead i

The football season kicks off in Sweden this weekend with the top division Allsvenskan in its 101st year. One of the most appealing things about the top tier in Sweden is that there is no VAR! Also, along with some of the fantastic atmospheres at the big derby matches and the amazing tifos and banners on display, the Allsvenskan is definitely a league that is well worth a visit. 16 teams are in the league, and here is a brief rundown of all the runners and riders this coming

The welcome that was extended to Greg and me when we headed into the valleys on our visit to Merthyr Town FC was truly amazing. "The land of our fathers" truly did open its arms to welcome two Englishmen who immediately fell in love with the club, its facilities, the Stadium and, of course, the fans. Our Non-league day trip turned out to be a truly amazing experience that any groundhopper or football fan should make. Penydarren Park was the venue where Merthyr welcomed Cherts

Blue Skies & 3 Points for The Millers! As many football fans will attest to, we often find ourselves trudging the length and the breadth of the country following our beloved clubs accompanied by the typical Great British weather, and I take my hat off to all who travel in such conditions simply for the love of the game. I however was treated to a blue sky and sunshine throughout my visit to Carlton Town, which was not only a rarity for the month of March but an added bonus on

Our latest away day saw us take a trip to Nottinghamshire to visit our good friends at Carlton Town who were taking on North Ferriby in the Northern Premier East Division clash, with Carlton Town still having an outside chance of reaching the playoffs and North Ferriby sitting in a playoff place, this game had all the makings of an intriguing game. When arriving at the Bill Stokeld Stadium, you are greeted with a nice sized car park, always a good start, you enter through the

Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of visiting Leek Town Football Club after an invite from Mat Knight-Burton, the Staffordshire club's community engagement officer, and we couldn't wait to come and see what the club was all about and what it does in the community. Leek Town play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, which is step 3 of the National League pyramid, after gaining promotion last season from the Division One West as champions. At the start of play, The

As always, I try to visit a ground which I haven’t been to before, provided that it’s no more than 50 miles from Charing X and the home team produces a printed programme. No programme means no visit! EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND I experienced the Elizabeth Line for the first time, got off at Burnham, which is actually a mile from the village, for a decent walk . My friend Jake drove down from Sheffield (he makes podcasts), and we witnessed a quite remarkable match, which didn’t s

The venue for our latest Proper Football away day was Hadley Football Club thanks to an invite from one of our followers Tom Hammond who is not only a big fan of The Bricks but also a volunteer at the club and one of the many unsung heroes you find around the country who are the heart and soul of non-league football. On arrival at Brickfield Lane, the home of Hadley FC, which is situated in North London near Barnet, the fog had descended, and the weather looked like something

The main ethos behind us starting Proper Football was to shine a spotlight on the game outside of the Premier League and give a platform to champion all that is great about non-league and grassroots football and the wonderful pyramid that is the foundation for our beautiful game. There are many other individuals on social media who share their love of non-league football and Ray Margetson's excellent content that details his travels around the country visiting many grounds, g

Four of us set off from South London for a doubleheader on Tuesday to East London/Essex. The first port of call was Romford Dog Track for an afternoon race meet and a few beers before the main event at Dagenham and Redbridge for their National League match against Aldershot Town. Before jumping on a bus from Romford train station to the track, I bought a cheese and pickle roll from a Cafe on the high street. To my surprise, they had no clue what Branston Pickle was! So after

Took myself off to vlog in Cambridgeshire yesterday, thanks to an invite from Soham Town Rangers FC manager Alex Cross, for their season opener v Harleston Town FC. After a 90 minute drive, I arrived early in a very warm Soham. Met on arrival by media man Jack, I was taken in to their, what a have to say, their very lovely and leafy ground, Julius Marin Lane. Apparently, during the off season, quite a few improvements had been made, outside and in. I don’t know what it was li

Sun beating down on a good natured pitch invasion, and grown men crying with joy. That was the scenes at the final whistle of yesterday’s National League North play off final, where, Boston United, in my opinion, deservedly on the day, beat Brackley Town. Although very much in the camp of really wanting Brackley to win, I couldn’t help but be happy for Boston and their fans, all in all, my experience of them, even before kick off, was that they were a great bunch. When I visi

Whilst scrolling through social media we came across a new page on Facebook called 'Girls Go Groundhopping' and watched one of their short Vlogs on a recent ground hop to a non-league game, we thought it was a great concept and was wonderful to see a dad taking his two daughters to the football. We got in touch with Tony the father of Freya and Scarlett and asked him all about Girls Go Groundhopping. What inspired you to start up your Facebook page with you and your two daugh

Yesterday, my Non League vlogging took me up to the midlands, for a clash between Walsall Wood & AFC Rushden & Diamonds. Wood came into the match, having, in effect, nothing to play for… however, for the Diamonds, they were hoping to pull of one of THE greatest relegation escape acts. They were on 4 points in January, 14 off survival, yet they had since hauled themselves to, basically, having to better relegation rivals Rugby Town’s result. The ensuing 90 minutes footy I saw

My vlog travels took me this weekend to a very sunny Hertfordshire, where I took in Royston Town v Kettering Town... thanks to an invite from Royston media man, and board member Neil Macleod. After my days footy and filming had ended, I was so grateful of the invite, because Royston Town is such a lovely club, with very welcoming and friendly people… and the team was not too shabby either!!! I feared beforehand, that I may not get the greatest afternoons entertainment, as, bo