Sunday 20 October 2013

TLFG: 21-27 October 2013

Hello there good people and welcome to this week's TLFG.

It's a big week in London with some important games in the Champions League and Premier League whilst some of our smaller sides are involved in the FA Cup as it reaches a critical round.

In the non-league game, one of the most exciting times of the year is the FA Cup 4th qualifying round. This is the final hurdle that must be negotiated before the professional clubs from League One and Two enter the competition. At this stage it's mainly teams from tiers 5-7 of the national game that are left in but a few minnows make it too.

The London area is represented by eight fine clubs who will all hopefully make it to the Promised Land and a potential moneyspinner of a draw against former Premier League sides like Bradford City, Coventry City, Sheffield United, Swindon Town or Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There are also a number of cracking ticket deals at some of our clubs this week but more on that below.

GET INVOLVED

As always, please remember to let me know what you've been up to and if you're interested in reviewing a ground within the London area for this blog then get in touch. You might also want to have a go at writing a 'Top Ten' one week. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.


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

Friday 15 November, 8pm - Chile, international friendly, Wembley (on sale 22 Oct)
Tuesday 19 November, 8pm - Germany, international friendly, Wembley (on sale 29 Oct)

Saturday 26 October, 705pm - Wales, Women's World Cup qualifier, The Den

Monday 18 November, 745pm - International friendly, Craven Cottage

Nothing currently available

Nothing currently available

Tickets are only available to season-ticket holders, members and their guests

Saturday 23 November, 3pm - Swansea City, Premier League

Wednesday 30 October, 745pm - Hull City, League Cup
Thursday 7 November, 805pm - Sheriff Tiraspol, Europa League
Sunday 1 December, 12pm - Manchester United, Premier League (on sale 24 Oct)

Saturday 2 November, 3pm - Aston Villa, Premier League
Saturday 23 November, 530pm - Chelsea, Premier League
Thursday 26 December, 3pm - Arsenal, Premier League
Saturday 22 March, 3pm - Manchester United, Premier League
Saturday 5 April, 3pm - Liverpool, Premier League
Saturday 3 May, 3pm - Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League


TICKET DEALS
There's some cracking bargains to be had this week, mainly in the Football League.

On Saturday League One side Brentford are running another one of their 'Pay What You Can' promotions for the visit of Shrewsbury Town. Tickets are on sale now, with a minimum price of £1.

If you're really keen you might then be able to hotfoot it over to the other side of London in time for the Women's World Cup qualifier between England and Wales at Millwall's ground with adult tickets only £5. The game kicks-off at 705pm so there should just be time to make it.

Elsewhere that afternoon, Barnet have halved the price of tickets for their FA Cup 4th qualifying round tie against Concord Rangers which means tickets start at £8.

The following day, Championship side Charlton Athletic are charging a flat rate of £6 for their match against current FA Cup holders Wigan Athletic, £1 of which is going to charity. 

Next week Tottenham Hotspur are pricing all adult tickets at £20 for the visit of fellow Premier League side Hull City for their League Cup meeting. Family tickets are also available.

In around a month's time there's a mini feast of international football to be enjoyed in London. Chile and Germany are both coming to play England in friendlies at Wembley while sandwiched in between there's a very interesting looking game between Euro 2012 finalists Italy and reigning African champions Nigeria at Fulham's Craven Cottage. Tickets for the latter start at just £20 which seems like good value to me.

There are also some youth games this week which might take your fancy, the pick of them being Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund in the Uefa Youth League on Wednesday at Boreham Wood with FREE ENTRY for all.

If you know of any other deals I may have missed or your club is running a promotion let me know.

There are over 70 matches in the London area this week so there's plenty to choose from whatever your budget.

As always, check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or venue has been changed. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found in the following match map. If you've never used it before, 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 might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the left side of the map page to make sure you get all the information.

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top (e.g. clubs in the Conference South).

MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Turquoise pin - Wednesday fixtures
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures
Red pin - Sunday fixtures




Next up is this week's TLFG match recommendations where I list a few games which I think could be worth a watch. Add your own in the comments section below.

TLFG TOP 10

ARSENAL v BORUSSIA DORTMUND
The Gunners are riding the crest of a wave at the moment and played some magnificent stuff as they beat Norwich 4-1 on Saturday to remain top of the Premier League. Some, though, are still asking how good they really are as, apart from Spurs, a kind fixture list has yet to see them play any of the other so-called 'big' clubs. In Dortmund they undoubtedly face a big club, one of Europe's giants. They got to the Champions League final last season and are currently second in the Bundesliga just a point behind Bayern Munich. They are fallible, however, losing a whopping two matches so far this campaign against Napoli and Borussia Monchengladbach. I still think Arsenal could win this. (Champions League, Tuesday 22 October, 745pm. Ticket info)

CHELSEA v MANCHESTER CITY
On the domestic front we've got this cracker between second and fourth in the Premier League on Sunday. Both sides looked good on Saturday as they saw off Cardiff City and West Ham United respectively. It's also a match-up which pits one of the meanest defences (5 goals conceded) against the best attack (20 goals scored) in the top flight so it should be intriguing. One of the stats I find most interesting ahead of this game is that Chelsea are winless in five against City in all competitions. With Jose back in charge they may well put that right. (Premier League, Sunday 27 October, 4pm. Ticket info)

CRYSTAL PALACE v FULHAM
It's a big week for Ian Holloway's Eagles as they play two London derbies back-to-back. Although Saturday's game against Arsenal is the more glamorous, this match on Monday is arguable more important. The Cottagers, often a solid midtable side, have got off to a poor start with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation places. Palace have fared even worse so far having lost all but one of their games to be second from bottom. Even at this early stage of the campaign, this can very much be classed as a relegation 'six-pointer' so should be tense. (Premier League, Monday 21 October, 8pm. Ticket info)

CHARLTON ATHLETIC v WIGAN ATHLETIC
If you missed it in the ticket section above, one of the deals of the week is to be had at The Valley. For just £6 (£1 of which is going to charity) you can watch this match between two former Premier League teams. OK, so it's been over six years since the Addicks were last there but Wigan have only just come down and are the reigning FA Cup holders after their famous win over Manchester City back in May. With this match moved to Sunday afternoon I'd like to think a few fans of other clubs with time on their hands might be tempted - I know I am. (Championship, Sunday 27 October, 3pm. Ticket info)

BRENTFORD v SHREWSBURY TOWN
Another great deal is on offer at Griffin Park the day before for this League One contest. The Bees narrowly missed out on promotion last year and are very much in the hunt for a play-off place this season. The Shrews are pootling along nicely in midtable but aren't doing anything stunning - so why should you go? Well it's 'Pay What You Can' so you can get in for a minimum donation of £1. Yes that's just £1 to watch professional football in London. If you're tempted, book in advance just in case as these offers usually draw close to capacity crowds.  (League One, Saturday 26 October, 3pm. Ticket info)

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE v ROCHDALE
It was hard to choose which League Two game to go for this week as AFC Wimbledon's match against Oxford United looks good too. I've gone for this one though as the Daggers also have a deal in place. It's not quite as eye-catching as either of the two above but they are operating a good old 'Kids for a Quid' scheme which might be of interest to you. Aside from this, Rochdale are also the joint leaders in the division so should be worth a watch. (League Two, Saturday 26 October, 3pm. Ticket info)

BARNET v CONCORD RANGERS
As mentioned above, it's FA Cup 4th qualifying round time again. For most clubs taking part it's an exciting time. However, for Barnet, fresh out of the Football League, it will be a bit of a comedown. The hosts should start this as overwhelming favourites as they play a division above Concord and are generally a much bigger club. The Beach Boys, though, can deal with these kinds of odds and have upset bigger clubs before in other competitions. Also, if you didn't notice it above, Barnet have halved ticket prices for this game. (FA Cup, Saturday 26 October, 3pm. Ticket info)

BOREHAM WOOD v HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS
An even bigger gulf of two divisions separates these two but Conference South side Boreham Wood are struggling while Heybridge are among the frontrunners in the Isthmian League Division 1 North. If the tie was taking place at Swifts' Scraley Road Stadium then you'd really have to fancy them. Even though that's not the case I still think they'll cause The Wood a few problems especially given they eliminated an impressive Bromley side in the last round. (FA Cup, Saturday 26 October, 3pm. Ticket info)

STAINES TOWN v POOLE TOWN
Once again one of our local sides should start a tie as favourites. Staines, unlike Boreham Wood, are doing fairly well in the Conference South sitting nicely in eighth just a point adrift of the play-off places. Although they lost on Saturday, they only went down 1-0 to leaders Eastleigh. Poole play in the Southern League Premier Division one level below but are also well placed for a tilt at promotion so could well be on Staines' fixture card next season. Although the Dorset club have come through three ties to get this far, they've had a kind draw and could find the Swans to be a little too good for them. (FA Cup, Saturday 26 October, 3pm. Ticket info)

AFC HORNCHURCH v HEREFORD UNITED
On the east side of town we have this potential FA Cup cracker. The Urchins play two levels below their more famous opponents but there is reason to think they could upset the applecart and dump the Bulls out. So far this season Hornchurch have only lost one league game to sit joint top of the Isthmian League. They've also really turned it on in the cup with 13 goals in the four games they've played. Hereford, on the other hand, are dangling just above the relegation places in the Conference Premier and are winless in five. Real cupset potential. (FA Cup, Saturday 26 October, 3pm. Ticket info)


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

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