Greetings one and all and welcome to this week's TLFG.
I've been really busy this weekend with family and football stuff so it's just maps at this stage and some previews for the beginning of the week - I will add more later.
I had a fun start to my Monday, travelling up to Kings Cross to be interviewed about changing English football culture for a film being made by a student at Central St Martins art college.
It's quite a building with lots of very cool people hanging around and doing very creative things - it was an honour to be there.
Next up on Tuesday, we have a Non-League Day (NLD) planning meeting with the Premier League - this tends to shape a large part of where the event heads and usually goes a long way to deciding where the PL trophy ends up on NLD itself.
I start some time off on Sunday so will hopefully head down to Champion Hill for the women's game between Dulwich Hamlet and Actonians. However, the weather is looking pretty iffy over the next few days and the pitch might not hold up - let's see.
Over the last few days, I also began planning a Bundesliga break in mid-January. I have an English friend in Dusseldorf who's offered to host me and an opportunity has finally come up. The game we look most likely to attend is a bit random and nowhere near where he lives but the adventure should be fun!
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Champions League tops the bill this week with two blockbuster fixtures between some of the cream of Europe's super clubs. There is a good selection of Premier League games and several EFL ones too.
It's a fairly standard week in non-league with the National League, Isthmian League, Southern League and all those in tiers nine and ten in action.
In the women's game, it's an international break and a big crowd is expected at Wembley where European champions England take on Asian champions China in a hotly anticipated fixture.
As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs and development matches. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.
Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them 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 drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (orange pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.
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.
MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Monday fixtures - yellow pin
Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Wednesday fixtures - turquoise pin
Thursday fixtures - purple pin
Friday fixtures - black pin
WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin
Sunday fixtures - orange pin
TLFG DAILY DIGEST
In the following section, I list what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.
Monday 24 November
Premier League Cup
Brentford v Exeter City @7pm - the only fixture of the night is this U21 match at Wheatsheaf Park in Staines. We're coming up to the halfway point in the group stage and it's the Grecians who are top of Group E coming into this. The Bees lost the reverse fixture in Devon so they'll have to up their game here.
Tickets
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday 25 November
UEFA Champions League
Chelsea v Barcelona @8pm - in years gone by, this would've been a potential semi-final or final line-up but maybe not this year. After four games of the league phase, neither side is in the top eight after a mixed bag of results. These sides first played in the 1960s and the head-to-head record between them since has been very close. It's been nearly eight years since they met in a Champions League game and on that occasion Barca won comfortably. Both sides are second in their respective leagues but the Blues are in marginally better form - a draw looks to be the most likely outcome. Tickets have sold out but
hospitality is available from £745
Championship
Watford v Preston North End @745pm - the Hornets' 3-2 win at Derby on Saturday saw them climb to 11th to put themselves just two points adrift of the play-off places. PNE suffered defeat in their big derby with Blackburn and missed the chance to go third in the process. The Lancashire club do quite well on their trips to Hertfordshire and have only lost one of their last five at Vicarage Road.
Tickets
Professional Development League
Charlton Athletic v Cardiff City @1pm - we've got a lunchtime game in this U21 competition so it's possible to see two games on Tuesday. Being played at Dartford's Princes Park, the Addicks could go third with a win. Tickets are £5 on the gate
Premier League Cup
Leyton Orient v Coventry City @7pm - the O's welcome their U21 counterparts from the Midlands for what could be a crucial game for the visitors. The Sky Blues have yet to win and are bottom of the group. They have two matches this week and if they lose them both, then they'll be left on the verge of going out. Tickets are £5 on arrival
National League Cup
There are three games in this competition tonight. To re-cap, this sees fifth-tier clubs play U21 sides from Premier League and Championship clubs. The matches are not proving popular with supporters despite tickets being cheaper and kick-offs a bit earlier. Boreham Wood host Leicester City, Sutton United take on Southampton, and Wealdstone face West Bromwich Albion. All matches start a 7pm and you can pay on arrival
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
More previews for the 25-30 November to follow
If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground in the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.
Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries. I do not charge for this advice like some other sites so don't hold back!
You can contact TLFG through the comments section below, via
X/Twitter or even by good old
email.
Has this blog been helpful? Donate to TLFG's coffee-drinking fund here
No comments:
Post a Comment