Sunday 29 July 2012

TLFG: 30 July - 5 August 2012

After seven years of waiting the Olympics are finally here. As someone who is passionate about London, I couldn't be more proud.

Seeing people with Games accreditation wandering around my neighbourhood on their way to or from events is exciting.

I hope a few of them and the thousands of ticket holders who are new to the capital will have a great time and will also make use of this blog as they build in a trip to one or two of our local clubs.

If you fall into that category - thanks for reading and welcome to London!

The amount of pre-season games has been growing by the week so there's been plenty to see. Personally, I've once again been pre-occupied with training for the new job, volunteering on my local parkrun, attending the men's cycling road race and continuing with preparations for Non-League Day (NLD).

It's mainly been about securing partnerships and sponsors at NLD Towers this week. My colleague Mike has been doing a great job bringing on board the likes of the Football Supporters Federation and Supporters Direct whose backing will be invaluable.

UK Soccer Shop have now also joined in and I'll have more about their involvement in future weeks.

There haven't been any new additions to the NLD match map this week but it is proving popular with a healthy amount of users having perused it already.

If you would like to help promote this year's Non-League Day on 13 October then you can download one of our banners to put on your website or blog. Thanks if you do.

LATEST TICKET NEWS
Each week at TLFG we attempt to compile a list of what is on general sale to non-members at London's Premier League clubs and for other notable matches (click on the team name for details).

Nothing currently available

(on sale 30 July if any remaining)
Wednesday 22 August, 745pm - Reading, Premier League
Saturday 25 August, 530pm - Newcastle United, Premier League

(all on sale now)
Saturday 18 August, 3pm - Norwich City, Premier League
Saturday 15 September, 3pm - West Bromwich Albion, Premier League
Saturday 29 September, 3pm - Manchester City, Premier League
Saturday 20 October, 3pm - Aston Villa, Premier League
Saturday 3 November, 3pm - Everton, Premier League
Sunday 18 November, 4pm - Sunderland, Premier League

QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Nothing currently available

Saturday 25 August, 3pm - West Bromwich Albion, Premier League (on sale now)
Saturday 1 September, 3pm - Norwich City, Premier League (on sale 2 August)

(both on sale now)
Saturday 18 August, 3pm - Aston Villa, Premier League
Saturday 1 September, 1245pm - Fulham, Premier League

Aside from these there are still tickets for some Olympic football matches at Wembley Stadium and also England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine at the same venue in September.


The week ahead is bursting at the seams with games with 85 to choose from. Not only do we have lots of freindlies taking place but several of the leagues TLFG covers also get their seasons fully under way.

Last season I used to break things down into a midweek and weekend match map but I had a lot more time on my hands so there's still only one this week. Please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground, you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you miss out. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the left side of the page to make sure you get all the information.

MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Turquoise pin - Wednesday fixtures
Purple pin - Thursday fixtures
Magenta pin - Friday fixtures
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures
Red pin - Sunday fixtures


As always, please check with the host club whether a match is still taking place and also confirm the venue as this can change at short notice where pre-season games are involved. Please also let me know if any of the details are wrong or missing. 

If you don't know the difference between what's hot and what's not, here's a few suggestions of games that could be worth watching:

TLFG TOP 10

GREAT BRITAIN v BRAZIL (Tuesday 31 July, 745pm)
It's not often that women's football makes it into our top 10 let alone leads it but the Olympics have changed everything. Back-to-back wins over New Zealand and Cameroon have left Hope Powell's GB side level on points with Brazil at the top of Group E so this match will decide who wins it. The South Americans should start as favourites but good support from a large and lively Wembley crowd could swing it for the hosts. Tickets are officially sold out but check the Olympics ticket site for any late availability.

WATFORD v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (Sunday 5 August, 3pm)
After playing local sides Boreham Wood and Wealdstone in their early warm-ups, the Hornets dramatically raise the stakes with a home game against Premier League Spurs. Both clubs have new managers at the helm who will be looking to get their systems drilled into the players as quickly as possible. Whether Gianfranco Zola or Andre Villas-Boas will succeed is yet to be seen but this should be a decent enough game. The match is also  being used as a testimonial for the long serving Lloyd Doyley and there will also be a Watford Legends v Spurs Legends match beforehand at 1215pm. TICKET INFO

AFC WIMBLEDON v PRESTON NORTH END (Tuesday 31 July, 745pm)
League Two take on League One in this pre-season game at Kingsmeadow. Since being hammered 7-0 by Reading two weeks ago, things have gone a bit better for the Dons. In the four games since, they've only lost once. Preston have also had a rather mixed build up but did enjoy a 1-0 win over Greek giants AEK Athens at Deepdale on Saturday. Both sides had rather underwhelming seasons last time so they'll be hoping for better this time round. The Dons also a West Ham XI on Saturday for Simon Bassey's testimonial. TICKET INFO

WELLING UNITED v CRYSTAL PALACE (Saturday 4 August, 3pm)
The Wings missed out to neighbours Dartford in the Conference South play-off final last season so are unsurprisingly listed among the favourites for the title this year. Since losing their opening friendly to Charlton two weeks ago, Welling have gone on the rampage winning five consecutive games and scoring 17 goals in the process. The Eagles, by contrast, have seen their XIs play three times with defeat in only one at Margate on Friday. According to the Welling website, Palace should be including 'several first team players' for this match between two teams from the south-east quadrant of London. As pre-season games go, this looks a like a good one. TICKET INFO

BOREHAM WOOD v BARNET (Saturday 4 August, 3pm)
Ian Allinson, the former Arsenal winger, has done rather well in his four years as manager of The Wood having elevated them to the Conference South and comfortably kept them there. On Saturday they play the last of their six home friendlies against near neighbours Barnet. The League Two club are set to bring a very strong if not full team to Meadow Park for this so expect an above average crowd. Given that the Bees only just avoided relegation to the Conference Premier last year, there shouldn't be much to choose between them. TICKET INFO

DULWICH HAMLET v RFC TEMPLOUX-SUARLÉE (Sunday 5 August, 2pm)
Following on from Staines Town v Warta Poznan on Monday, the leftfield match of the week sees Dulwich of the Ryman South play host to this exotically named Belgian club. I think it's fair to describe 'Les Aviateurs' as a non-league club too, playing as they do at level eight of their respective pyramid (although I think they may be at level seven now). With the game on a Sunday hopefully a few more groundhoppers and casual football observers will take the opportunity to pop down to Champion Hill for this. Dulwich have also cut adult admission to £5. CLUB INFO

HANWORTH VILLA v CHESSINGTON & HOOK UNITED (Saturday 4 August, 3pm)
If you've had enough of friendlies and only meaningful combat appeals to you, the real stuff gets under way in the Combined Counties League on Saturday. Newly promoted Guernsey have been touted as Premier Division favourites by many but another team who will want to do well are Hanworth Villa. Last season was a good one for the Villans as they finished third in the league and reached the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. Manager Bobby Dawson will hope to get the new campaign off to a great start against Chessington who struggled last year and only avoided relegation by virtue of a reprieve. CLUB INFO

BARKINGSIDE v TAKELEY (Saturday 4 August, 3pm)
Competitive football is also the order of the day at Oakside where one of the favourites for the Essex Senior League title pay a visit. Although they were well off the pace, Takeley did manage to finish third last season. Talk on forums suggest the club have spent a bit of money recently and are going for promotion. The hosts, meanwhile, didn't do too badly themselves managing a top eight finish. On Saturday they also held landlords Redbridge of the Ryman North to a 1-1 draw so don't expect Takeley to have it all their own way. Personally, I'm rather fond of Oakside. It's only a short hop from the Olympic Park on the Central Line and is located right next to Barkingside tube so is very easy to get to. TICKET INFO

VCD ATHLETIC v BECKENHAM TOWN (Saturday 4 August, 3pm)
Given all the publicity Dartford got last season you could be excused for thinking they were the only club in town. Well they're not. VCD (originally short for Vickers, Crayford and Dartford) also gave a rather good account of themselves in the Kent League which kicks-off this weekend too. Although Herne Bay won the title by a comfortable margin, the 'Vickers' managed a creditable third-place finish with only goal difference separating them from Erith & Belvedere. Beckenham also made it into the top six so this is probably the game of the opening day. CLUB INFO


AFC CROYDON ATHLETIC v WESTFIELD (Saturday 4 August, 3pm)
After the turmoil of last season which saw the demise of Croydon Athletic, supporters of the Rams have reformed their club and got them a place in the Combined Counties League Division One (Step 6 or Level 10 of the national system). They now groundshare with Croydon at the town's sports arena and host their first ever competitive match against Woking-based club Westfield (no relation to the shopping centre people) on Saturday. So if you want to be part of history, get yourself along to SE25. TICKET INFO


If you have any questions or want advice about watching football in London you can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or email.

2 comments:

  1. During first league matchday (18th of August) I will be able to watch only one game of top four divisions in London? AFAIK all games in London are on Saturday and all of them are at three o'clock. That's stupidity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Competitive football is also the order of the day at Oakside where one of the favourites for the Essex Senior League title pay a visit. Although they were well off the pace, Takeley did manage to finish third last season. Talk on forums suggest the club have spent a bit of money recently and are going for promotion comprar camisetas de baloncesto baratas.

    ReplyDelete