Whilst I am away in North Dorset this weekend, you could be taking my place at Non League Day. Our friend over at Whitmarsh's whiskers explains the background behind the scheme, as well as offering advice as to where to spend your hard earned:
This weekend sees the return of Non League Day after its successful introduction last season. With the Championship and Premier League fixtures not happening because of the international break, and England playing on Friday evening against Bulgaria, Non League clubs up and down the country are offering promotions to fans of these clubs to come and sample the delights of grass roots football in the hope that they enjoy themselves and come back from time to time.
The idea was the brainchild last year of James Doe, who watches Harrow Borough when he’s not following QPR, and was enthusiastically backed by many clubs. Hendon were one such club and benefited from perhaps 15-20 extra people through the gate for our home match against Carshalton Athletic last season. Although it’s questionable whether or not we benefited in the long run particularly, but that extra £100 does make a real difference to a club like Hendon, who rely completely on whatever income they can generate through sponsorship and Matchday revenue.
Those who did attend Vale Farm in September last year weren’t treated to a classic by any means – the game was settled late on by a spectacular scissors volley from Mariusz Serwin in Hendon’s favour – but it gave fans who may not be used to Non League football the chance to sample what its like and just how it differs when you can get ‘that’ close to the action.
This season Hendon, who are owned fully by the Supporters Trust, have had to move their top of the table clash with Lewes, who are a Community owned club, to the Sunday due to Wembley’s FA Cup commitments. This, I hope, will work in our favour as we will be able to target fans of those clubs in League 1 and League 2 as well as those higher up the pyramid, and given our location close to the Overground, Jubilee Line and Picadilly Line, Vale Farm is quite easily accessible to fans of a number of clubs. The game has even been advertised on the 1st QPR Supporters Trust website. Any publicity is good publicity (perhaps this piece might help a little too!).
Why then, if you’re a fan of a club in the big leagues, should you bother with the pub stuff served up at level 6, 7 or lower. You may just be surprised. Reasonably priced beer (at some clubs even allowed on the terraces), decent food that hasn’t been vacuum packed, the ref able to actively hear you question the quality of his parentage, the lumbering number 5 with his belly hanging over his shorts, the mercurial 37 year old ex pro who now fancies himself as a ‘libero’, the 18 year old livewire up front who wants to be the next Jermaine Beckford or DJ Campbell, real terrace wit that makes players laugh from time to time, linesmen enjoying a joke with the supporter who tracks him up and down the touchline to confirm every offside decision, the archetypal unwashed anorak that seems to breed under the terraces of every Non League club, sharing a post match pint with the manager and players in the bar and the odd bit of genuine quality. If none of that is enough to whet your appetite, then perhaps the promise of 90 minutes football for the price of a bottle of beer at Wembley Stadium will do the trick. Just consider that when your missus is pointing out the shelves that you still haven’t put up, or the overgrown hedge in the garden that really really needs cutting back or even, heaven forbid, when sheasks you to go shopping for a new outfit for the Xmas party season already. I think you know what’s right.
Of course, I would urge anyone at a loose end to come and watch Hendon on Sunday. Admission for anyone who holds a season ticket or ticket stub from a League club this season will be just £5, as opposed to our full price of £9. Full details can be found on the front page of http://www.hendonfc.net . If you’re unable to come down on Sunday but still fancy a game on Saturday, then all fixtures and promotional details being run by various clubs can be found on the Non League Day website http://www.nonleagueday.co.uk
Try it, you might just enjoy it.
Many thanks to Whitmarsh's whiskers, a blog I can heartily recommend following Hendon FC and life in the Ryman Premier. It really is a great read about a great little club. Let's hope some of you out there take up the chance to go out and support your local team this weekend.
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