Another football love....

Although ill always be a hammer at heart some of you may know that I have found another team to share my football passion.

Over the last few years the Upton Park prices and doing my football stuff with my boy has restricted me making many trips to see the hammers and my hammers family.

Basically visiting the hammers with Jack is just an expense that I cant justify the way things are in my financial world. A mate of mine who coaches Jacks team, I do the admin and cone holding, was joint manager of Concord Rangers a Ryman Premier League team on Canvey Island so we decided to go along and watch for a tenner and loved every minute of it.

They have a few ex hammers in their side at the minute, Tony Stokes, Matt Fry and Jack Lampe have all been on our books in the past and it shows in the way they play their football

Its a completely different world from the Premier League and football league side of the game, you can have a chat with the players and management in the bar after the game, players out injured or suspended come and stand on the terrace with us whilst watching matches.

If you get a chance and the hammers arent playing pop down and watch your local side you might enjoy it lol

I have always been a fan of the lower league football,
It is a totally different football world
away days at Brentford in the first round of the FA cup are memorable occasions
and as you say mate, players management and even chairman are all in the bar.

Chairman is a hammer as well

Nice work mate, glad your enjoying it. thats the way things should be.

It is also nice to get well over 20 games a season for £170

Play Offs a possibility and a cup final for me this season lol.

Keep us updated mate. :cheers:

I do pretty much the same thing with our local club over here, IFK M. Although they are top flight Finnish league & are a pro club, crowds rarely peak 1600 & the players are not so well paid that they get too above themselves. An English friend who knows more about these sort of things says they, & the league, is no better than League 2/Conference standard in England.

My son is in a junior side & I also do the cone collecting & dish out the training vests. I spent last night checking the new shirts, cutting off all the unnecessary labels & checking numbers etc for the start of their season next week.

WHU will always be the club of my heart but the distance between us now means I have to fill the void. Football support is pretty much the same the world over & most of the people I know here now, I know through football.

I actually find it quite difficult to stay away from football grounds. I love the atmosphere, smell, the whole package of football grounds at all levels. The fact my son plays probably increases my input but I'd still probably show up for some unimportant mid table (for that's where they are most of the time!), end of season match even if he wasn't!

Same here dude love my football although I think I am starting to prefer it when the crowds are smaller lol.

The games are catching up with the players a bit now, they played 9 games last month due to so many games being called off through shit weather. Basically Saturday Tuesday Thursday matches for a few weeks....ridiculous schedule, they wouldnt expect professional players to do it but expect blokes with full time jobs as well to do it. They had a run of 1 defeat in 18 at 1 point and only lost 1 of the 9 last month. League Cup Final tomorrow at Maidstone.

I went to Wembley with our boys team to watch Southend yesterday and the standard I have been watching in the Ryman Premier League is better than what I have seen from Southend this season.

My local side Welling Utd are top of the Conference South and look like they will be promoted

Welling are a class above anything else in the BSS

all power to them mate.

Won the League Cup tonight 3-2 after extra time, cracking match going behind twice before scoring the winner in the second half of extra time.

Tony P wrote:My local side Welling Utd are top of the Conference South and look like they will be promoted

my local side as well dude

Lost last night, oh well there is always Saturday

Kings Lynn Town are my other team, doing well in the Northern league div 1, 2nd at the moment but favourites to go up to the premiership. Get really good crowds for step 4, average just under 600 a home game and take a good 100+ to most away games. Should be back in the Conference North in about three four years, after being wound up in 2010 and dropped four divisions.

Hampton & Richmond are my local team, currently 14th in the Ryman Isthmian League.

I was more interested when Dev was manager and went to a pre-season friendly between them and us a few seasons ago.

2nd equaliser werent too shabby in the cup final

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Kray JR wrote:2nd equaliser werent too shabby in the cup final

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Is that an artificial pitch?

Yes dude, Maidstone Uniteds ground. It played very well on the night both teams played some excellent stuff.

How is the Concord Rangers player who got the bad injury getting on?

Still on crutches at the minute mate. Fingers crossed rehab goes well and he will be back next year sometime. He has still managed to get over to see the boys home and away.

The squad is getting really stretched at the minute, still in a play off position but lost 2-1 at home against Harrow Borough today. Some shocking officials though, foul on the keeper for the first goal, one opposition player got a yellow for an attempted head butt, one got a yellow for shoving a player in the face and to top it off the away fans told us the ball didn't cross the line for the winner that the Lino gave.

Lost 3-2 today on a pitch that was touch and go at the start of the game. by the end of the game it was looking seriously bad but have to say that even then both team did try and play football as farcical as it was.

seen quite a few of them this season dude. I do find I appreciate my football more when I know that the guys I know at the club have been there for god knows how many hours before the game or the night before to make sure it is playable for the next match. Met Police away today a win would guarantee a play off spot. Running on empty with players on the bench injured to make the numbers up the boys went to Leiston Tuesday night and won 3-0.

Who do you follow again dude ?

Kray JR wrote: Met Police away today a win would guarantee speeding fines, a bag of weed in glove box and a couple of 'bald' tyres.

Edited for accuracy Dave.