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

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

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

One of the topics that I have covered quite regularly on our Podcast is that of homegrown players in the modern-day game not getting the same opportunity as what may well have been afforded to players of yesteryear, the reason for this, and this is only my opinion is the mass influx of foreign players into every level of the English football pyramid with many of the top sides having more foreign players than homegrown, this quite obviously means there are far less openings an

It's not everyday you see a jet plane at a non-league ground, well, apart from the decommissioned Red Arrow, Folland Gnat at Folland Sports FC ground! Last Saturday myself and two mates decided to attend the Wessex League Division One Step 6 game between Folland Sports and Romsey Town down in Hamble, Hampshire on the South coast. The reason for the visit was not only to tick off a new ground but also was the idea of my friend who was intrigued by the club who are known as the

So, with all the non-league successes of last week’s FA Cup first round we've decided to pop along to the lowest ranked side in the second round of the cup based on their Current league position in the Southern League Premier Central with Kettering sitting top. So, we hotfooted it over to Leicestershire and to Market Harborough famous for the mustering point of King James 1 royalist Army in 1645 before the defining Civil War Battle of Naseby, and now in 2024 Harborough Towns

So it’s FA Cup first round and with me living in Northamptonshire it’s a bit of a no brainer which game to attend, Northampton town playing Kettering town for the first time in 35 years, tier 3 versus tier 7 and with this fixture being one of a few local affairs Weston-Super-Mare travelling to Bristol Rovers, Charlton Athletic making the short trip across the Dartford Crossing to Southend United to name but a few, this years 1st round has thrown up some fantastic fixtures. I

What a fantastic day we had at Kettering Town Football Club on Saturday, not only to receive a warm welcome and great hospitality along with watching a great game of Non-League football but to also be part of the wonderful charity Team Mikayla who were in attendance for the day raising vital funds for the award winning charity who have a long running affinity to the football club. On arrival at Latimer Road, the new home of The Poppies since 2013 after having to leave their

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

Another Saturday had rolled around and it was time to decide the next venue for us to ground hop, Its always a tough choice to pick a game but today was an easy one! I'd already decided where I was going a few weeks back as the battle at the top of the Isthmian League South East Division (step 4) between Ramsgate FC and Cray Valley Paper Mill has been nip and tuck between the two standout sides in the League all season and with them both sitting on 85 points and only separat