I started watching non-league football about 5-6 years ago. It is fascinating but the issues with money, histrionics , scandals and management issues are really no different to what you get in the Premier League albeit on a far, far smaller scale. It is always entertaining from the off-pitch aspect and this is no doubt because so much of non-league football is almost hand to mouth. The issues affecting clubs are far more fundamental such as the issue with Stockbridge FC leaving their league a few seasons ago because the waterlogging had made football unplayable.The difficulties with non-league can go far beyond money with players not being available due to work commitments or games abandoned because of floodlights not working. What intrigued me about non-league supporters was the depth of knowledge and the fact that everyone seemed to know everyone else. It is far more esoteric than the professional game. The first season I went , I encountered an old boy who made a habit of going to watch a different football team every week and had notched up an incredible number of grounds including ones in Asia in between flights to Australia! The non-league fans are literally fanatical! When things do wrong in non-league, the issues can be catastrophic yet I have seen some terrific players at both Wessex / Evostik SW a number of whom have started off with Premier League clubs like Saints and Spurs. I quite like the fact that you can be in a crowd of less than 100 on a freezing cold night in January as well as the fact that three months after the FA cup final on Saturday, the competition will kick off again with the preliminary rounds. Generally, non-league football is a good afternoon / evening out.
Sorry to see you go Lff, keep popping back every now and again. You were generous enough to pass on an enormous box of Saints memorabilia to me recently that I can share with my children (long as they've got clean hands!!) and it's clear your love affair with both Saints and football go back a long way. Football does seem a cruel mistress, fromthe seductive temptress of top flight games to the plain Jane downright dull as dishwater mid table-she puts us all through it. I've come to the realisation, my sole function is to pass the Saints gene on to my children and then I can take a step back. The fight back to the top flight was a great time, guts, determination and character with the sprinkle of local lads has been replaced by something a little more turgid and I don't just mean under Claude's tenure!!.... just seems a little to sanitised and far removed from why I fell in love with the game. Anyhoo, don't completely despair.... I regularly look through that box with my three even though they don't all quite get it yet... and be happy in the knowledge the Saints will always be there for you.....
I had a lot of involvement in non-league football Ian, for ten years. The fans were people, just like top fans of professional clubs. They seemed neither more nor less fantastical or knowledgeable than fans of Premier League clubs. They'd just made a different choice in the team to support.
Great post. Thanks. I'll still be on this wretched forum giving it my tuppence (explainthat to your 3 year old!) worth.
I don't quite agree but do whatever you enjoy. I have to admit though, I think I'll be finding some other stuff to do next summer.
I'm hoping that the Chinese super league is really going to pull some money grabbing prima donnas out of the EPL. Nice to see chelski et al being robbed of some players.
