THERE ARE times when watching non-league football makes you question your sanity, especially when the weather is cold and damp, the facilities are spartan and the football very primitive. Poor toilets, drenched in stale urine, catering that defies all the … Continue reading The non-league condition – Hednesford v Hitchin
OK, it was my fault, I didn’t read the small print, AFC Rushden & Diamonds don’t take cash – unless, of course, you buy a programme. Whatever the reason for the club not to take hard currency, they are making … Continue reading The cashless Non-league society and Luiz in Brazil
IN NOVEMBER 2021, it will be 150 years since the first FA Cup games were played. Was it really 50 years ago that we celebrated the 100th anniversary with the bruising Leeds United v Arsenal final? Later this year, there’s a … Continue reading FA Cup: Anniversary waltz in the shadow of the A1
WHEN Hitchin Town installed some wooden terracing at Top Field in the 1930s for a big FA Amateur Cup tie against Wimbledon, it was supposed to be a temporary measure. Those terraces, some of which still exist, became a little … Continue reading Hitchin Town v Nuneaton Borough: New steps for old
LATER in the evening, football was supposed to be coming home, and indeed it did to some extent. While towns like Hitchin became transformed into melting pots of drunk fans wearing England shirts, there was a chance to remind people … Continue reading Non-League: Time used wisely – transforming a football ground
SUDDENLY, the FA Trophy is important once more. With non-league action suspended, FA Trophy games have been allowed to continue, although goodness knows if the competition will be allowed to continue to its conclusion. With last season’s final between Harrogate … Continue reading In the bleak midwinter, Hitchin’s trophy exit
