From Boston To Mount Florida
American names with British meaning... It's football by the way... Not soccer!
It’s been an interesting few months…. This season I’ve taken on a DATA Analyst role for one of Europe’s top soccer statistics providers and with it I’ve travelled across England into Wales and up to Scotland with a few new football grounds chalked off in between.
From the County of Denbighshire in September to most recently the town of Hereford… This weekend I’m in Walsall as I watch Aston Villa v Chelsea (ladies) in the Women’s FA Cup semi-final… Quite possibly the most ‘important’ match I’ve witnessed and worked on… So far!
There’s something about ‘groundhopping’ which I love… The simplicity of heading to new towns and cities and seeing those floodlights of an imposing venue for the first time… Looking around and marvelling at the surroundings which can be anything from distant hills or buildings in the background, idyllic, or rusty old stands and terrace turnstiles in your face, less pleasing on the eye but in no way less dramatic, the sniff you get of freshly cut grass on entrance, burgers and onions sizzling away, the mumbling noise of the well spoken chap on the tannoy and the thud of the ball’s being smacked around in the pre-game warm up, taking everything in with as much pleasure as possible, there really is nothing quite like it.
A recent trip to Scotland I had saw me work on the European Championships Qualifiers between the Tartan Army and Spain, a 2-0 win against all odds as Stevie Clarke’s boys beat the former World & European Champions at ease, Scott McTominay star of the show with two impressively taken goals.
Huge celebrations by the end of the match where the fanatical home support were singing in the rain as the players danced on the pitch to songs sung by the Proclaimers (500 miles) and Gala (Freed from Desire). An occasion, despite my allegiance to England, savoured by those around me and myself, who could say ‘I was there’ to witness a first Scottish win over Spain since 1984.
That day I travelled from my home in the Midlands at 10am, arriving in Glasgow at 3pm, leaving an hour and a half after the match after being stuck annoyingly in the Car Park at Hampden long into the night, I finally got back to blighty near 4am the next day… My first trip to the home of Scottish football, tough on the body, even harder on the car, but the game does that to you, boy it was worth it, certainly I would do it again!
It all started in Wales, September 2022, ‘can you pull a job in’ they said on the morning of the match… “Yes, why not” was my reply… Near 50 games later I’ve chalked off 34 varied stadiums/homes of football since… And have no intentions of stopping there…
Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar U17’s was my analytical debut, a one sided game at a lovely quaint North Wales village ground the home of Denbigh Town FC, a spanking grassy pitch of marvellous quality, I remember having a decent cup of tea for a pound, being surrounded by a number of Spaniards with packed lunches and suitcases most of which to cheer on their sons, and the chap from UEFA sat next to me, telling me of his journey from Cardiff over the Valley’s which took longer than it did for me to drive across country from Nottingham. That despite me living in a different country completely.
Stand out players had me purring over teen sensations, Kevin Zefi of Inter Milan, Rocco Vata of Celtic, James Abankwah of Udinese, a centre half with the ‘armband’ who wouldn’t have looked out of place holding a cigar whilst stroking the ball around and commanding orders to his peers, the future is bright for the boys in green.
Since that day… It’s been mostly non-league… Dotting around the grounds of middle England I’ve been as high as York, as low as Potters Bar, as East as Kings Lynn and as West as Hereford, which is a place I really enjoyed going to on Bank Holiday Monday gone. A stadium in Edgar Street that not only stunk of fust, but also reeked of history… You don’t know football, if you don’t know Ronnie Radford!
For those who don’t know, football in this country of ours means so much more than Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and the Premier League… There’s bread and butter clubs that we all know and have heard of from following years of the vidiprinter on Grandstand before Jeff Stelling’s Soccer Saturday took our football results watching by storm, clubs built on community backing with little outside funding, simply strutting the lower leagues for 100 years plus on the basis they feel they have to keep going, despite having no interest in breaking records and climbing divisions, just surviving for the sake of surviving, to provide for their people that bit of enjoyment on a usual August to May Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night. These are the clubs I really love, and seeing the people behind the scenes, that make them tick, getting to know them, is what really matters to me..
From Boston (Lincolnshire, no not New England my American friend) I’ve enjoyed regular matches at a newly built Jakemans Stadium (the old York Street too, was sublime), got to know the locals that go, have my own favoured routine from driving in down the roman made A52 road, parking up across the Pilgrims Way, picking my press pass up at the clean and modern Main Reception and buying a brilliant quality pie, chips and gravy from under the stand, washed down with a cup of tea… To sitting up in the press area, watching the game which is usually a real gutsy honest battle, leaving shortly after the whistle and blasting the radio on for my car journey home to hear the result being read out of the very match I’ve just watched… These days you’ll never forget, in your own space, enjoying the beauty of football, from it’s simplest format, from grassroots to beyond.
You can follow my journey through my notes… Or head over to www.theheadscout.com where I’ll keep you updated with every match I attend!
Thanks for reading!
theHEADscout.
I’m a sports DATA Analyst and PFSA associate scout with level two qualifications in talent identification and level one certificates in technical scouting & opposition analysis.