Greetings everyone and welcome to one of the last editions of TLFG for this season.
First up, apologies for not publishing at all last week - it is a sign of the times I'm afraid with life and simply my energy levels catching up with me.
I started this blog 15 years ago to keep my hand in after being made redundant by BBC Sport.
It gave me a bit of purpose while I was unemployed and I also had no kids back then - I have two now.
The scope of this blog has also increased significantly in the intervening years, going deeper into non-league and covering women's football which it never did at the beginning.
The weekly "Top 10" transformed into a "Daily Digest" which is preferable but very time consuming.
Over the last year or two, I've noticed that my fitness has really dropped off and I'm now at a point where I have to decide whether to work on this or go for some exercise - the former has often won out and my waistline has burgeoned so I'm going to try and redress that so output here could suffer.
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| Wembley hosts Non-League Finals Day on Sunday |
On Friday, my regular running partner and TLFG reader Liam and I took a deep breath and ran all the way from Shepherd's Bush to Oxhey Jets (near Watford) as we re-started our A-Z of TLFG club runs.
It had been seven months since we got our N by running to North Greenford United and the thought of running a half marathon out to the Boundary Stadium was just too overwhelming, but we dropped the pace and gave it a go.
Last week I was struggling to do a 5km but somehow I made it.
Later today, we're going to try and get our P by running down to Peckham Town - it's about 10 miles and there are several routes but many of them follow main roads with lots of traffic which won't be much fun but we'll see what happens.
The last couple of days have been really dramatic for London clubs.
Not only did Arsenal complete a controversial 1-0 win at West Ham to move closer to winning the title but way down in the sixth tier, Hornchurch came from behind to win the National League South play-off final against Torquay United.
The Urchins now move up to the National League which is some achievement for a club who were formed 20 years ago and began life in the ninth tier Essex Senior League.
A day later, Boreham Wood found themselves literally seconds away from a place in League Two but a very late equaliser from Rochdale saw the match at Wembley go to extra-time and penalties and it didn't end well for the Hertfordshire club.
The play-off drama continues tonight (Monday) with Millwall welcoming Hull to The Den with the game balanced at 0-0 after the first leg.
I'm working most of the week but am all set to attend the Actonians end-of-season awards do on Saturday - it's usually quite fun and I'm interested to see who wins the supporters' POTY award after a more successful season than many envisaged.
The next football I have booked is the World Sevens at Brentford at the end of the month - six of the eight teams taking part have been announced but possibly the two biggest will hopefully be unveiled this week.
Also worth noting, the London Football Book Market makes its return on 30 May in Brixton.
Organised by Stanchion Books who are big friends of the blog, it's free to get in and you'll be able to meet a mix of publishers, authors, illustrators and other football brands.
There's also a quiz night the day before at The Volley in Old Street so there's loads going on.
Right, I think that's it from me, have a great week!
THE WEEK AHEAD
The FA Cup Final tops the bill this week but there also some important games in the Premier League too. There is also a massive play-off game in the Championship as well.
It's going to be a busy weekend at Wembley as the national stadium also hosts Non-League Finals Day on Sunday.
In the women's game, Arsenal are back at the Emirates Stadium for a WSL game against Everton whilst Chelsea and West Ham are at home on Saturday for their final games of the season.
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
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. I no longer write previews for sold out matches or ones where membership is a minimum requirement for tickets so Premier League matches will rarely appear here - they will still be on the match maps though.
Monday 11 May
The week begins with two massive games in the Premier League and Championship and they're unsurprisingly sold out as a result. In the top flight, Tottenham Hotspur will continue their fight to survive in the country's elite division with a crucial match against Leeds United. The visitors are on an impressive unbeaten run and have already confirmed their place in the division for another year. In south London, Millwall entertain Hull City in the second leg of their play-off semi-final. The first leg ended goalless on Friday so it's all to play for at The Den. The winners will play Middlesbrough or Southampton in the final at the end of the month
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Tuesday 12 May
CCL Challenge Cup Final
Windsor & Eton v Wokingham Town @745pm - the CCL season concludes with its league cup final at Cobham. It features Premier North runners-up and play-off winners Windsor and Wokingham who finished midtable in the same division. On paper this looks like a nailed on win for the Royalists. Tickets are £10 on the gate
CCL Women's Cup Quarter-Final
Sutton United v Chatham Town @745pm - the U's completed their league campaign on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Dorking Wanderers to finish a creditable fourth in their fifth-tier division. Next up they welcome a Chatham side who finished third in the division above them, made it to the fifth round of the FA Cup and won this competition last season. This is being played at Gander Green Lane and tickets should be no more than £5 on the gate
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Wednesday 13 May
Women's Super League
Arsenal v Everton @7pm - with Manchester City crowned champions already, it's now all about whether the Gunners can pip Chelsea to the runners-up spot which will give them a smoother passage in next season's Champions League. Win this penultimate game of the season and they will move up to second. The Toffees can mathematically finish in the top six but they will have to heavily win their last two games and hope Brighton and London City Lionesses lose their last matches. This is being played at the Emirates Stadium and
tickets are available
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Thursday 14 May
SPCFL Premier
Worcester Park v Battersea Ironsides @730pm - this 11th-tier division will conclude with this final game at Sutton United's ground. Worcester Park come into the game top on goal difference from Wimbledon Casuals. However, their goal difference is so good that they can afford to lose this game by a 14-goal margin and still be crowned champions. The visitors are third and will finish there whatever happens here. Admission is often free at this level but shouldn't be more than £5
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Friday 15 May
U18 Professional Development League Final
Charlton Athletic v Wigan Athletic @7pm - in a late addition to this week's guide, I discovered we have a bonus U18 game being played at The Valley on Friday night. Not only that but it's a final.
Tickets are £3 for adults
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Saturday 16 May
FA Cup Final
Chelsea v Manchester City @3pm - the traditional showpiece of the English football season takes place on Saturday. The occasion is still nowhere near as big as it was when I was a child but it seems to be making a bit of a comeback. These sides have made it to a total of 30 finals between them, claiming 15 wins (Chelsea 8, City 7). Coming into this game, the side from the north-west will start as strong favourites as they've already won the EFL Cup and are still in the title race whilst Chelsea are winless in seven in the Premier League. Tickets are only on sale to members
Women's Super League
Chelsea v Manchester United @1pm - in an unfortunate bit of scheduling, the Blues' women finish their season at Stamford Bridge on the same afternoon as the men's FA Cup Final. You'd like to think that as many men's fans who can't get a Wembley ticket will come to this instead and then watch the final somewhere in the area (I haven't seen any info about a screening within the ground). As mentioned above, Chelsea will be in a final-day battle with Arsenal to see who finishes second. United will finish fourth whatever happens here.
Tickets London City Lionesses v Aston Villa @1pm - Michele Kang's first season in the WSL is coming to an end. She's spent a considerable amount on players and is rumoured to be bringing in some more really big stars in the summer. Despite all this largesse, a win here will only see them finish sixth at best. However, given that most newly promoted teams go straight back down, this is still quite a decent achievement. Villa have been disappointing this season and defeat here could see them finish second bottom. This is being played at Bromley and
tickets are available
West Ham United v Manchester City @1pm - over in east London, the Hammers wrap-up their season with a home game against the league champions. With only one defeat from five, they're finishing strongly and a win here could see them break into the top eight if other results go their way. City have nothing to play for so it will be interesting to see how they line-up and how much effort they put in. This match is being played at Dagenham & Redbridge and
tickets are available
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Sunday 17 May
Premier League
Brentford v Crystal Palace @3pm - with only one win from their last six games, the Bees look likely to fall just short of Europa League qualification but win this final home game and they might still have a chance. The Eagles drew with Everton on Sunday to make absolutely sure of avoiding relegation and now the focus will primarily be on winning the UEFA Conference League Final later in the month. Tickets are only available to members
Non-League Finals Day
Arguably the highlight of the non-league season takes place at Wembley less than 24 hours after the FA Cup Final. The action begins at 1230pm when AFC Stoneham (from Hampshire) take on north London club
Cockfosters in the FA Vase Final. This national knockout competition is for sides in the ninth and tenth tiers and Kent club Whitstable Town are the current holders. This is followed at 430pm by the FA Trophy Final which is for clubs in the fifth to eighth tiers - Aldershot Town are the holders in this. You can't often say that a non-league match will get a bigger crowd than a Premier League one but we know that's definitely going to happen here. With Essex club Southend United having sold well over 20,000 tickets and west Londoners
Wealdstone more than 12,000. A ticket costs £30 and gets you in to both matches. Be advised that you can arrive whenever you like but once you leave, you can't come back in. Smoking or vaping is not allowed at Wembley so if the second game goes to penalties, you could well be in the ground for six hours or more.
Tickets
L&SE Women's League D1 North
Camden Town v Bromley @2pm - the Ravens travel to north London for their final match of the season knowing a win at third placed Camden will see them emulate the men in winning their divisional title. If they slip up, it will let second place Hammersmith back into the title race. They're currently four points behind and play AFC Greenwich Borough over at Gunnersbury Park but also have a game in hand against Clapton CFC which is yet to be arranged. This sixth-tier match is being played at Wingate & Finchley. I don't know if there's an admission fee but it won't be more than £5
GLWFL Finals Day
Bedfont Sports' ground by Heathrow Airport plays host once again to the finals of the Sue Sharples and John Greenacre Memorial Trophies. The GLWFL is comprised of divisions in the seventh, eighth and ninth tiers of the women's football pyramid. Fusion and Balham, two ninth-tier teams, meet in the Sue Sharples final at 1115am before seventh-tier sides Leyton Orient and Tooting Bec meet in the JGMT final at 230pm. Although Orient have already won the league and Tooting finished as runners-up, this game is unlikely to be close as the O's have a side full of Tier 3 & 4 quality players. When the sides met last weekend in the league, Tooting lost 10-1 at home. Again I'm not sure of admission but it'll probably be around £5 again
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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!
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